Desi Today Magazine
Four people dead and several people were injured today close to Britain’s Houses of Parliament in what police said they were treating as a terrorist incident.
A suspected terrorist plowed a car into pedestrians on London’s Westminster Bridge on Wednesday afternoon, then fatally stabbed a police officer before being shot. At least four people, including the attacker, were killed and 20 others were injured in the British Parliament complex.
Reuters reporters inside the building heard loud bangs and shortly afterwards a Reuters photographer said he saw at least a dozen people injured on Westminster Bridge, next to parliament.
His photographs showed people lying on the ground, some of them bleeding heavily and one apparently under a bus. The number of casualties was unclear.
The House of Commons was quickly placed on lockdown, authorities said. Prime Minister Theresa May and Queen Elizabeth II were reported safe.
“Officers – including firearms officers – remain on the scene and we are treating this as a terrorist incident until we know otherwise,” London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
The House of Commons, which was in session at the time, was immediately suspended and lawmakers were asked to stay inside.
A suspected terrorist plowed a car into pedestrians on London’s Westminster Bridge on Wednesday afternoon, then fatally stabbed a police officer before being shot. At least four people, including the attacker, were killed and 20 others were injured in the British Parliament complex.
Mark Rowley, assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said local law enforcement currently believe that the dead attacker is the only suspect. Londoners can expect to see heavier police presence, both armed and unarmed, throughout the city for the next few days, Rowley said.
The House of Commons was quickly placed on lockdown, authorities said. Prime Minister Theresa May and Queen Elizabeth II were reported safe.
CNBC reported that the incident at Parliament occurred on the first anniversary of the terrorist bombings in Brussels that killed 32 people.France’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that three French high school students were in serious condition after being run over on Westminster Bridge.
French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve tweeted in French, “Solidarity with our British friends terribly stricken, full support to the injured French students, their families and their comrades.”
Soon after the attack, House of Commons leader David Lidington updated fellow members of the Parliament that the alleged assailant stabbed an officer and was shot by police.”An air ambulance is attending the scene to remove the casualties. There are also reports of further violent incidents in the vicinity,” Lidington said.
