Incredible moment fearless woman Cub Scout leader confronted second knife-wielding 'killer' and told him 'It is only you versus many and you are going to lose'

Picture shows man carrying what appears to be a knife speaking to woman
Crowd of onlookers can be seen watching the scene unfold
Two men are thought to have waited about 20 minutes until police arrived

PUBLISHED: 15:32 EST, 22 May 2013 | UPDATED: 19:03 EST, 22 May 2013

This is the dramatic moment a woman appears to remonstrate with a man carrying a knife following a brutal attack in Woolwich.

The image shows a man wearing a brown jacket and carrying what appears to be a large knife speaking to the woman beside a blue car which has significant damage to its front end at the scene where another man died following the attack.

Two alleged attackers are thought to have waited around for 20 minutes until Metropolitan Police officers arrived and then tried to attack them - but were swiftly shot by armed policemen, including a woman.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe tonight confirmed two men had been arrested and officers from the counter-terrorist unit were leading the investigation into the killing.

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The woman appears to be remonstrating with a man who seems to be carrying a knife at the scene of the incident

Ingrid Loyau-Kennett spoke to the alleged attackers after she jumped off a bus to check the victim's pulse

A crowd of onlookers can be seen further down the road, watching the scene unfold.

According to reports, mother-of-two Ingrid Loyau-Kennett spoke to the alleged attackers after she jumped off a bus to check the victim's pulse.

The cub scout leader has told The Telegraph how she held her nerve while engaging the alleged attackers in conversation as one told her: 'We want to start a war in London tonight'.

She told the man: 'Right now it is only you versus many people, you are going to lose, what would you like to do?'

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She said the man told her he would like to stay and fight.

According to the report others shielded the victim's body as the killers stood over them.

MPs have praised the 'extraordinary bravery' shown by the women.

Eyewitnesses have said two men launched a ferocious attack on the victim, believed to be a soldier, this afternoon.

Footage has emerged of a man with bloodied hands carrying what appears to be a knife and a machete

The man tells those at the scene: 'I apologise that women had to witness this today, but in our land our women have to see the same'

The man appears to be carrying a knife and a machete in his blood-covered hands

Footage has emerged from the scene, released by ITV News, of a man with bloodied hands, carrying weapons and saying: 'We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you'.

They apparently shouted 'Allahu Akbar', which means 'God is great' in Arabic, and tried to film the attack, the BBC's political editor Nick Robinson said.

Theresa May has tonight called a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee in response to the machete and knife attack on the man who was wearing a Help for Heroes t-shirt.

The Home Secretary said she had been briefed on the killing by the head of MI5 and police later confirmed they were treating the incident as a possible terror attack.

The footage also shows two men being detained by police on the ground

Witnesses film the drama as it unfolds on camera phones before being shepherded away by officers

The Cobra meeting heard that security has been tightened at Woolwich barracks and increased at all London barracks. It was also told there are strong indications that this was a terrorist incident.

Mrs May said said: ‘What happened today in Woolwich was a sickening and barbaric attack. This attack was an attack on everyone in the UK. It will be condemned by people from every community.

‘We have seen terrorism on the streets of Britain before, and have always stood firm against it. Despicable acts like these will not go unpunished.’

Meanwhile Prime Minister David Cameron cancelled a meeting with French President Francois Hollande to return to London. He said Britain has faced similar terror attacks before and added: ‘We will never buckle in the face of it.’

Investigative works continue into the evening as police probe the scene in Woolwich

A forensic tent is put up near the scene of the attack in Woolwich, south-east, London

In footage released by ITV News, a man with bloodied hands carrying a knife and a machete addresses people holding a camera, where he appears to attempt to justify the incident.

Speaking to those recording the scene he says: 'I apologise that women had to witness this today, but in our land our women have to see the same.

'You people will never be safe. Remove your government, they don't care about you.'

In footage obtained by The Sun, he can also be heard saying: 'You think David Cameron is going to get caught in the street when we start busting our guns you think politicians are going to die?

'No it's going to be the average guy, like you, and your children. So get rid of them. Tell them to bring our troops back so you can all live in peace.'

Flowers lie near the crime scene where one man was killed in Woolwich, south-east London

The incident is believed to have started after this car crashed. Fluid can be seen which has leaked from the car

A police forensics officer investigates the scene in Woolwich

Following his outburst, the man walks back towards where the victim is lying in the middle of the road. He then speaks to another man as they stand near to the victim.

The man who filmed the video told ITV News that the bloodied man said he was not under threat, telling him: 'No - it's cool, I just want to talk to you.'

He said that he was a little scared at first but soon realised he was not in danger.

Later footage has also emerged from shortly after police fired at two men. One of the men can be seen lying in the road, while the second is laid on the pavement.

Eyewitness have spoken of how they witnessed the horrifying scenes unfold before their eyes.

SHOCKED EYEWITNESS SAYS MAN WAS 'HACKED, CHOPPED AND CUT'

An eyewitness who watched a man brutally killed with a machete-style knife and dumped in a street tonight dramatically revealed how he watched the two attackers behave like 'crazed animals'.

The man, known only as James, said he and his partner saw two black men attack a young man aged around 20 in a Help for Heroes T-shirt like he was ‘a piece of meat’.

Fighting back tears, he told LBC Radio: ‘They were hacking at this poor guy, literally. They were chopping him, cutting him. These two guys were crazed. They were just animals.

'They dragged him from the pavement, dumped his body in the middle of the road and left (it) there.’

He said that after the ‘horrendous’ attack, the two men, in their 20s, stood around, waving knives and a gun, even asking people nearby to take pictures of them ‘as if they wanted to be on TV’.

‘They were oblivious to anything, they were more worried about having their photo taken, running up and down the road,’ he said.

‘They had no intention of running off or leaving or anything. In my opinion, they were waiting for the police to arrive to be shot by the police.

'That's the only thing I can think. It's horrendous what they were doing to that guy.’

Joe Tallant, 20, a van loader who lives near the scene, said he was in a shop when he heard two gun shots.

He came out of the shop and saw a man lying on the ground.

He said there were two other men walking around the body saying 'this is what God would've wanted'.

He said: 'My friend and her mum were walking up the hill and the mum came straight to the victim.

'She asked the black guys can I help him? And one of them said he was already dead but she could go.

'Then one of them said "No man is coming near this body, only women".

'She was so brave, she didn't care what happened to her - she knelt down by his side and comforted him.

'She held his hand and put her other hand on his chest. I think she might have been praying.

'My friend (the woman's daughter) was crying her eyes out. The victim was wearing a Help for Heroes T-shirt.'

Mr Tallant said the two men were walking up to people with cameras so they could be seen and filmed.

He said: 'They wanted people to know who they were.'

Another eyewitness claimed one of the soldier's attackers was seen last week preaching in Woolwich.

Jamie France, 29, a local musician, said: ‘I spoke to my mum on the phone and showed her the video footage from the internet. She told me that she recognised one of the men with the knife.

‘She said she'd seen him last week preaching in Woolwich town centre. She said she remembers him because he'd been really angry and was saying all this political stuff.’

Mr Cameron said on Twitter that 'the killing in Woolwich is truly shocking - I have asked the Home Secretary to chair a Cobra meeting.'

Labour leader Ed Miliband, who is cutting short a visit to Germany to return to the UK, said: ‘This is a truly appalling murder which will shock the entire country. All of my thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim.

‘The British people will be horrified by what has happened in Woolwich. They will be united in believing that this terror on our streets cannot be allowed to stand.'

The attack happened on John Wilson Street in Woolwich, south-east London, this afternoon, close to the military barracks

The victim was a serving soldier and was believed to have been based at the nearby Woolwich barracks

And Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: 'This afternoon witnessed a shocking and horrifying murder on the streets of our capital. The whole nation's thoughts will be with the family and friends of the victim this evening.

'People across our country, whatever background they are from, will be united in condemning this attack and we will stand together, as we always do, in our response.'

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: 'The Queen is of course concerned by the report of an attack in Woolwich earlier today. Her Majesty is being kept informed.'

'What happened today in Woolwich was a sickening and barbaric attack. This attack was an attack on everyone in the UK. It will be condemned by people from every community'

- Home Secretary Theresa May

The spokesman also confirmed the Queen will visit the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery at Woolwich barracks on May 31, which was planned before today's attack.

This afternoon the area’s MP, Nick Raynsford, told BBC Radio 5 Live he believed the victim, a man aged in his 20s, was a serving soldier.

The man is believed to have been hacked to death after a car crash. The scene of the attack is just 200 yards from Woolwich Barracks.

A statement from the Muslim Council of Britain said it understood the victim was a member of the Armed Forces.

It said: 'This is a truly barbaric act that has no basis in Islam and we condemn this unreservedly. Our thoughts are with the victim and his family.

'We understand the victim is a serving member of the Armed Forces. Muslims have long served in this country's Armed Forces, proudly and with honour.

'This attack on a member of the Armed Forces is dishonourable, and no cause justifies this murder. This action will no doubt heighten tensions on the streets of the United Kingdom.

'We call on all our communities, Muslim and non-Muslim, to come together in solidarity to ensure the forces of hatred do not prevail.'