Seven men have been taken into custody after four people were stabbed during alarming scenes on a busy south London high street, where witnesses reported seeing a group armed with machetes running through the area.
One man is understood to be in a life-threatening condition, while three others were taken to hospital following the incident, which reportedly began with a fight inside a KFC on Bromley High Street shortly after 2.15pm.
Bromley High Street has been shut in both directions between Ringers Road and Ethelbert Road as officers maintain a police cordon around the scene.
The Metropolitan Police said the seven arrested men remain in custody and added that, at this stage, there is not believed to be any wider danger to the public.
Emergency services including an air ambulance, London Fire Brigade crews and Met Police officers were sent to Bromley town centre following the stabbing incident.
A manager of Merkur Slots gambling shop said she witnessed the fight ‘spill out’ onto the high street.
She said that she felt ‘very worried’ and locked herself, as well as three customers, inside the building as they waited for the incident to de-escalate.
Meanwhile, Vinnie Guadagnino, who lives on the high street, said he saw a huge police response to the incident with several cars and at least ten officers on foot.
He told the BBC: ‘Police cars kept coming, then within the next half hour there were multiple fire engines and people gathering.
‘Then there was a drone overhead and helicopters and an air ambulance – so a massive emergency service response.’
Bromley is one of the largest boroughs in the capital city and is known for its sprawling green spaces and is generally considered a middle-class area.
It is also ranked among the top 10 safest boroughs in the capital city with 67 per 1,000 people, CrimeRate reported.
Earlier this year, data also revealed it was the most expensive area in southeast London to buy a property.
Statistics from Zoopla showed the average salary required to buy a home in Bromley was £92,000.
The average property price of a property in the area sits at £518,000, according to the Office for National Statistics.
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Meanwhile, as of June 2026, the average value of a detached property in Bromley sits at £1,074,000
The scene at Bromley this afternoon, where four people were stabbed and have since been rushed to hospital
Met Police officers, a paramedic in a fast response car, an air ambulance and the London Fire Brigade were dispatched to the scene
People shared images on social media and eyewitnesses warned of ‘machete-wielding gangs’
A Met Police spokesperson: ‘At around 14:15hrs on Thursday, September 10, officers were called to reports of an altercation on Bromley High Street.
‘Officers attended the scene alongside the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance and found four men with stab wounds.
‘Three of them were taken to hospital where they are receiving treatment for non-life-threatening injuries. One is in critical condition.
‘Seven men were arrested and they all remain in custody.
‘Police enquiries continue and there is not believed to be any wider threat to the public.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: ‘We were called at 2.19pm today to reports of a stabbing on Bromley High Street, Bromley.
‘We sent ambulance crews, a paramedic in a fast response car, an incident response officer and an advanced paramedic.
‘We also dispatched London’s Air Ambulance. We treated four patients at the scene and took them all to hospital’.
Anyone with information has been asked to contact the police force by calling 101 and quoting 4008/10SEP.
Alternatively, those who want to report anonymously can do so by calling the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
The Daily Mail has approached KFC for comment.