In broad daylight, he and an accomplice had just repeatedly stabbed and tried to behead an off-duty soldier in front of dozens of passers-by.
Yesterday’s slaughter took place 200 yards from The Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich and close to a primary school at 2.20pm.
Throughout the frenzied attack they shouted “Allah Akbar” _ Arabic for “God is great” _ then demanded horrified witnesses film them as they ranted over the crumpled body.
The two black men in their 20s, waited calmly for armed police to arrive before charging at officers brandishing a rusty revolver, knives and meat cleavers.
Before police arrived, one of the killers was filmed giving his warped justification for the sickening attack, “We swear by Almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you. The only reasons we have done this is because Muslims are dying every day.”
“This British soldier is an eye for an eye a tooth for tooth. We apologize that women had to see this today but in our lands our women have to see the same.”
In footage screened by ITV News, he added, “You people will never be safe. Remove your government. They don’t care about you.”
On a day of fast-moving developments, David Cameron cut short his trip to Paris and described the assassination as “absolutely sickening”, insisting Britain will never buckle in the face of terrorist attacks.