LONDON - A 26-year-old man who was shot in a car in Croydon, south of London, during disturbances this week has died, becoming the first fatality of
riots sweeping Britain, police said on Tuesday.
No further details of the death were immediately available.
RELATED:Police prepare for the worst as London riots continueHundreds of protesters and police have been injured, mostly in the capital, since trouble flared on Sunday night.
In the face of growing public demands for firmer action to be taken against rioters, police said they might consider using baton rounds - non-lethal rubber or plastic bullets.
"That's a tactic that will be used by the Metropolitan police if deemed
necessary," Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh told
reporters.
He said police were planning for more mass disorder on Tuesday night.
Earlier on Tuesday, British Prime Minister
David Cameron
said he would recall the British parliament
from its Summer recess, and do everything necessary to restore order in
London, following three consecutive nights of riots. One of the
measures he said would be taken was the deployment of 16,000 police
officers in the city by Tuesday night.
"This is criminality pure
and simple," he told reporters outside his Downing Street office after
breaking off his annual holiday to return to Britain. "People should be
in no doubt that we will do everything necessary to restore order to
Britain's streets."