Police may have accidentally shot a man in the arm outside a private members’ club in Chelsea, it has emerged.
The police watchdog launched an investigation after a man was shot when armed officers stopped a car linked to a homicide investigation.
The gunmen stopped the car at the junction of King’s Road and Beaufort Street in Chelsea, south-west London, at around 9pm on Sunday, the Independent Office for Policing Conduct (IOPC) said.
During the stop, a single shot was fired from a police weapon, hitting one of the men in the car in the arm.
He remains in hospital, while the three other men in the car were taken into custody at the scene.
The IOPC is expected to investigate whether the gun went off accidentally.
The suspension came as part of a homicide investigation into the death of a man who was fatally stabbed in Southampton shortly before 12.30pm on Sunday.
The car believed to be linked to the murder was driven to London and stopped there.
The IOPC said investigators will review police radio communication, body-worn video and initial statements from the officers involved.
Regional director Graham Beasley said: “Firearms being fired by police officers is relatively rare, but where potentially deadly force is used it is important that we carry out an independent investigation into the circumstances.”
Hampshire Police, who are investigating the killing in Southampton, said a 19-year-old man was stabbed in the chest on Langhorn Road and taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
A total of five men aged between 20 and 46 have been arrested on suspicion of murder.
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