UK: 26-year-old shot in car becomes first riot fatality

No further details immediately available; Cameron deploys 16,000 police officers to quell riots, cuts short holiday, recalls parliament.

By REUTERS
Police outside burnt London shop 311 R (photo credit: REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth)
Police outside burnt London shop 311 R
(photo credit: REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth)
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 continue
Hundreds 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."