A man shot dead by armed police after breaking into a house wearing a gas mask and wielding a crossbow was a convicted stalker under a five-year court restraining order at the time.
Bryce Hodgson, 30, had also been banned from entering Bywater Place, Rotherhithe, where the shooting happened just before 5am on Tuesday.
Hodgson wore body armour as he forced his way into a property where the woman he previously targeted lived and threatened to hurt residents while also wielding a sword, hatchet and knife.
Unarmed officers tried to speak to him but were confronted and when police marksmen arrived, he was shot.
Hodgson received first aid but died at the scene.
Two people suffered minor injuries.
Last July, Hodgson was sentenced to a 16-week suspended prison sentence at Croydon Magistrates’ Court for stalking a 31-year-old woman.
He pleaded guilty to causing serious alarm and distress to her by entering her bedroom without consent, sending text messages demanding that she open her door and describing vivid sexual fantasies between January 1 and April 29 last year.
Hodgson was spared an immediate spell in prison with the court noting his “previous good character”. He was ordered to undergo 12 months of supervision and carry out 120 hours of community service.
The restraining order imposed until July 2028 banned him from contacting the victim or entering the road where she lives.
Hodgson, of Thurlow Park Road, West Dulwich, was also told to pay £85 costs and a £154 victim surcharge.
A second charge - that he broke the terms of his bail by breaching a nighttime curfew – was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Investigators from the Independent Office for Police Conduct remain at the scene and confirmed the dead man was known to at least one occupants of the address, the watchdog said.
It also said body-worn footage confirmed he was trying to threaten people before two shots were fired from a police issue firearm, which will be subject to further analysis.
A neighbour at Hodgson’s current home described him as a “troubled and haunted individual” who chain-smoked and stressed about losing his hair prematurely.
He said Bryce Hodgson moved into the multi-occupancy house around six months ago.
The resident said: “He was one troubled individual. He always looked stressed and kind of haunted. He was always outside smoking. He had a job in computers as far as I know.
“He was very timid and always looking over his shoulder. He was young but his hair was coming out it looked like due to stress.
“I’m amazed he had all that military gear and was tooled up with weapons. I never noticed any of that stuff getting delivered here. He usually looked a mess - same jeans and scruffy clothes.
“Just goes to show you don’t know what’s going on with people.”
Another local added: “He was always outside smoking. There is a bus stop directly outside the house so it looked like he was in the queue but he just used to stand there having a fag keeping himself to himself.”
A third said: “The police came to the house and we couldn’t work it what was going on.
“As far as I know, there had been no problems with the guy while he was here.”
Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist, who has overall responsibility for firearms, said he “firmly” believes police actions “prevented further loss of life”.
He added: “The first unarmed officers knew they were arriving on scene to reports of man armed with weapons and threatening to harm people inside an address.
“The officers knew there were people inside and had genuine fears for their safety.
“Armed officers were called and attempted to get the man to surrender. They entered the property and shots were fired.
“I would like to pay tribute to the bravery of all our officers who responded and thank all the emergency service staff involved.”
The coroner has been notified and a post-mortem examination will take place in due course.
Fatal police shootings are relatively rare in the UK, with no more than three occurring per year since 2017.
The most recent Met fatality was the death of Giedrius Vasiljevas, 40, who was shot at his home in Dagenham in November after calling 999 to say he had loaded guns and wanted to take his own life.
