A gunman's dead after armed police stormed a house in the fashionable Chelsea area of London to end a siege this morning.
Police aren't saying if the man died during three exchanges of fire in the five-hour drama in Markham Square, just off King's Road, or if he shot himself.
Witnesses reported seeing the man carrying a shotgun and firing more than half a dozen shots, it's not known what set him off.
The incident began just before 1700 GMT (0300 AEST) at the start of the evening rush hour and was still going on five hours later, a police spokesman said.
A large section of the busy thoroughfare -- a main east-west traffic artery -- was closed.
Police Commander Ali Dizaei said the lone gunman was in a house in the square and the house was surrounded by armed police.
The Kings Road is a favourite shopping street to London's rich and famous while the area has dozens of million-pound plus homes.
It is not known what sparked the incident -- although police ruled out robbery and burglary as a motive for the shooting.
Witnesses reported seeing the man carrying a shotgun.
They said he had fired more than half a dozen shots.
A driver of a number 11 bus, who only gave his name as Charles, said about eight police cars appeared suddenly as he was travelling slowly down the Kings Road during the start of the rush hour.
He stopped the bus immediately to allow the 25 passengers to flee.
"Passengers ran for their lives," he said.
"I felt terrified. I immediately thought there was somebody with a gun. Armed police don't turn up for a stolen handbag."
Shoppers were told to stay in the shops and residents have been told to lock their doors and stay away from the windows.
A waiter at the nearby Benihana restaurant described it as a scary situation.
"We have just heard some gunshots -- about half a dozen," the worker, who did not want to be named, told Reuters by phone.
Another eyewitness told Sky News: "I heard six or seven shots coming from an area near a bank - they sounded like firecrackers."
