‘I was the first police officer on the scene at the 7/7 London bombings’
A former Metropolitan police sergeant who was one of the first at the scene of the 7/7 bombings as a trainee has detailed the ‘chaos and carnage’ of the day.
Jenni Dunman, was just a trainee detective when she was ordered to Edgware Road where one of four bombs was detonated across the Underground and bus system 19 years ago today.
Some 52 people were killed, and more than 700 were injured by the explosions, with six people losing their lives in Edgware Road station.
But when Jenni and the rest of the team first arrived, it was thought the explosion was due to an electrical fault.
But it soon became clear a bomb had in fact been detonated, with a second device also likely to go off.
Jenni told Metro: ‘A crackle came through our radios that another bomb was expected to go off, and that was when I truly realised my life was in danger.
‘But as a police officer you can’t let fear wash over you – you have to be there for public and let your sense of duty take over.’
She said her team were stationed just outside the station, where they helped the walking wounded and those in shock to safety.
Survivors went on to describe the horror of the attacks as well as their lives afterwards.
George Psaradakis, 59, who was driving the bus told the Daily Mail: ‘The horror of what I witnessed is etched indelibly on my heart, but I saw so many wonderful things too.
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‘Sheer altruism, benevolence, people going out of their way to help others.
‘What I saw was the worst of people mixed with the best.’
Jenni later formed part of the team who raided the homes of suspects later that day.
The four people identified as responsible for the attack were Mohammad Sidique Khan (30), Shehzad Tanweer (22), Germaine Lindsay (19) and Hasib Hussain (18).
Despite experiencing terrible fear, Jenni said seeing the community come together is what ‘changed her life’.
‘I realised that day that every singe person is nice,’ she said.
‘Everyone was coming together and opening their arms and homes to complete strangers, from the wealthier residents to the homeless man at the end of the street, no one was on their own.’
Jenni served another 14 years in the force, working her way up to be a detective sergeant in the Serious Violence Unit.
But she said her memories of he attacks ‘shaped her career and her life’.
She said: ‘It shaped my life going forward – it made me realise how precious everything is/
‘You never know when it is your last day.’
Who were the victims of the 7/7 London bombings?
A total of 52 people were killed as a result of the 7/7 bombings. These were:
- James Adams, 32 – a church deacon and mortgage advisor
- Samantha Badham, 35 – a web designer
- Philip Beer, 22 – a hair stylist
- Anna Brandt, 41 – a cleaner
- Ciaran Cassidy, 22 – a shop assistant
- Rachelle Chung For Yuen, 27 – an accountant
- Elizabeth Daplyn, 26 – a hospital administrator
- Arthur Frederick, 60 – a museum security guard and former police officer
- Karolina Gluck, 29 – a receptionist
- Gamze Gunoral, 24 – a student
- Lee Harris, 30 – an architect
- Ojara Ikeagwu, 56 – a social worker
- Emily Jenkins, 24 – an aspiring midwife
- Helen Jones, 28 – an accountant
- Susan Levy, 53 – a legal secretary
- Shelley Mather, 26 – a tour guide
- Michael Matsushita, 37 – an IT recruiter
- James Mayes, 28 – an analyst
- Behnaz Mozakka, 47 – a biomedical officer
- Mihaela Otto, 46 – a dental technician
- Atique Sharifi, 24 – a student
- Ihab Slimane, 24 – a waiter
- Christian Small, 28 – an advertising salesman
- Monika Suchocka, 23 – a trainee accountant
- Mala Trivedi, 51 – a radiographer
- Adrian Johnson, 37 – a hockey player
- Anthony Fatayi-Williams, 26 – an oil executive
- Jamie Gordon, 30 – a financier
- Giles Hart, 55 – a pro-democracy activist and BT engineer
- Marie Hartley, 34 – an artist
- Miriam Hyman, 31 – a freelance picture editor
- Shahara Islam, 20 – a cashier
- Neetu Jain, 37 – an IT technician
- Sam Ly, 28 – an Australian national on holiday in the UK
- Shyanuja Parathasangary, 30 – a Royal Mail employee
- Anat Rosenberg, 39 – a charity administrator
- Philip Russell, 28 – a financier
- William Wise, 54 – an IT specialist
- Gladys Wundowa, 50 – a cleaner
- Lee Baisden, 34 – an accountant
- Benedetta Ciaccia, 30 – an IT business analyst
- Richard Ellery, 21 – a camera shop assistant
- Richard Gray, 41 – a tax manager
- Anne Moffat, 48 – head of marketing for Girlguiding UK
- Carrie Taylor, 24 – an aspiring novelist
- Fiona Stevenson, 29 – a solicitor
- Michael Stanley Brewster, 52 – senior project manager
- Jonathan Downey, 34 – a HR executive
- David Graham Foulkes, 22 – a media sales manager for The Guardian
- Colin William Morley, 52 – an advertising executive
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