Terror attack attack on UK Parliament; Car driven by knifeman mows down pedestrians before he is shot while attacking cops – Over 20 hurt, at least four dead including police officer and terrorist
Four confirmed dead and scores hurt in attack on UK Parliament
SUV driver ploughed over pedestrians on London’s Westminster Bridge, Wednesday afternoon
The knife-wielding driver mowed down at least 10 pedestrians before moving on to attack cops on the grounds of parliament
At least two dead and several ‘catastrophically injured’
Victims left scattered in the road, with some reportedly knocked into the River Thames
The ‘middle-aged Asian’ knifeman then got into the grounds of Parliament where he reportedly stabbed a police officer
A knife wielding man managed to break into the grounds of the British Houses of Parliament while the house was in session, earlier today.
The attacker stabbed a police officer before he was shot, according to reports. More than 12 people are said to have been hit by a vehicle on Westminster Bridge after an SUV driver deliberately mowed down pedestrians and cyclists. Three bodies were visible on the floor outside Parliament and the Palace was placed on an immediate lock down.
Prime Minister Theresa May reportedly, was bundled into a car by a plain-clothes police officer and ferried away from the scene.
Injured victim lies in the middle of the road after demented driver ran over pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, near the Houses Parliament, Wednesday
A man, believed to be the attacker, is put on the stretcher and wheeled into an ambulance inside the grounds of Parliament
An hour after the attack, paramedics removed one person from the scene after extensive CPR. Another body appeared to have been left on the ground covered by a red blanket.
Ann ER doctor at St Thomas’ Hospital said some of the victims were admitted with ‘catastrophic’ injuries.
Prime Minister Theresa May is said to have been bundled into a car by a plain-clothes police officer and driven quickly from the scene.
Scotland Yard said the attack, which comes a year to the day after the terrorist atrocities in Brussels, is being treated ‘as a terrorist incident until we know otherwise’.
Photo shows A vehicle was seen on social media to have crashed into the fence of the palace. Armed Police reportedly, shot the driver person outside the Houses of Parliament
Security forces patrol the grounds of Parliament
A knife was seen on the cobbles in front of Parliament after the attacker was shot by security personnel
EMTs were seen administering CPR on victims inside the main thoroughfare in and out of Parliament
First responders attend to unidentified pedestrian knocked down on Westminster Bridge by the demented SUV driver
Members of the public help one of the victims of today’s vehicular terror attack on Westminster Bridge, leading to a showdown at the nearby houses of parliament
A woman lies severely injured at a postcard stall opposite Big Ben this afternoon following the horrific terror attack
A woman is being treated for injuries after being pulled out of the River Thames near Westminster Bridge by tow boat crews
‘He had a lightweight jacket on, dark trousers and a shirt. He was running through those gates, towards Parliament, and the police were chasing him.’
Her partner David Turner added: ‘There was a stampede of people running out. You saw the people and you thought ‘what the hell is going on’.’
Steve Voake, was walking across the Westminster Bridge and saw at least two bodies lying on the road and one in the water.
‘I saw a trainer lying in the road and when I looked more closely I saw that there were a couple of bodies the other side of the road,’ he told the Press Association.
‘And when I looked over the side there was another body lying in the water with blood all around it.’
A doctor at London’s St Thomas’ Hospital, Colleen Anderson confirmed that a female pedestrian had died. Speaking to reporters outside the central London hospital, Anderson said she treated a police officer in his 30s with a head injury who had been taken to King’s College Hospital: ‘I confirmed one fatality. A woman. She was under the wheel of a bus. She died, confirmed her death at the scene,’ she said.
An injured victim is led from the scene on Westminster Bridge, Wednesday afternoon
Knocked off the bridge: A man believed to have jumped or knocked from Westminster Bridge lay with terrible injuries next to the Thames
Pieces of a vehicle’s undercarriage scattered on the pavement of Westminster Bridge as the public went to the aid of victims
He said the river has been closed from Vauxhall to Embankment ‘as part of the security response’.
A woman was either knocked, jumped or fell into the River Thames during the attack but was rescued by boat crews
First responders evacuate a victim from Westminster Bridge
Access routes to Parliament sealed off by armed police
Kevin Schofield, the editor of PoliticsHome.com heard ‘a very loud bang’ from the press gallery inside the Houses of Parliament followed by lots of shouting and men running around.
He initially thought it was a car crash but then he looked outside the window to a heavily guarded area outside which is out of bounds to the public.
He told Sky News: ‘Someone rushed through, attacked a policeman, a policeman went down, another policeman came and he was rescued.
‘The man who had assaulted him got up and he appeared to be carrying either a knife or a gun. Then we heard gunfire, lots of gunfire, maybe five or six rounds.
‘All I remember seeing is the man approaching the police officer probably with a knife and then there was gunfire.’
An announcement made in Parliament said there was a suspicious package in a vehicle and the bomb squad had been called
The attacker mowed down several pedestrians as he drove a grey Hyundai i40 across Westminster Bridge
Tourists who were riding the London Eye when the attack took place are currently being held inside the pods of the attraction as a safety measure.
The Ferris wheel’s official Twitter account said given its close proximity to the Houses of Parliament, it would be keeping hold ‘of all its guests as per tried and tested security procedures’.
Eyewitness Rick Longley described the attack saying: ‘We were just walking up to the station and there was a loud bang and a guy, someone, crashed a car and took some pedestrians out.
‘They were just laying there and then the whole crowd just surged around the corner by the gates just opposite Big Ben.
‘A guy came past my right shoulder with a big knife and just started plunging it into the policeman. I have never seen anything like that. I just can’t believe what I just saw.’
PM Theresa May’s armour-plated car is driven from Parliament after the attack
Outside Parliament, around two dozen police officers came onto the estate at around 4.20pm following an extensive briefing.
All the officers were wearing gloves and could be about to begin a detailed finger print search.
The dramatic incident comes weeks after it was revealed that UK security services have foiled 13 potential attacks in less than four years, while counter-terrorism units are running more than 500 investigations at any time.
The official threat level for international terrorism has stood at severe, meaning an attack is ‘highly likely’, for more than two years.
The dramatic incident comes weeks after it was revealed that UK security services have foiled 13 potential attacks in less than four years, while counter-terrorism units are running more than 500 investigations at any time.
The official threat level for international terrorism has stood at severe, meaning an attack is ‘highly likely’, for more than two years.
Additional Metropolitan Police firearms officers are regularly put on detail around the grounds of the Houses of Parliament in the aftermath of terror attacks.
Following the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris two years ago, armed officers were positioned at the front vehicle gates to the Palace of Westminster, in a change from normal practice.
Security around the UK Parliament is unprecedented according to the BBC
Concrete blocks have also been installed around the premises of the Houses in a bid to protect the building from a possible attack.
In recent years, MPs have been told to consider fitting their constituency offices with panic buttons and designating a ‘safe room’ in their homes.
They are also being briefed on the security plans in case of an attack on the Commons.
Following the stabbing to death of Jo Cox, MPs spent almost £640,000 on boosting security.
During the four months after her murder, politicians spent four times on security measures what they had done in the whole previous year.
Spending on MP’s office and home security also rocketed after Mrs Cox was shot three times and stabbed outside a constituency surgery meeting.
Last year it was revealed that 130 MPs had requested additional security measures, including bomb-proof letter boxes and reinforced windows.
Members have also been offered classes in self-defence techniques in a bid to ward off would-be attackers.
Speaking after the attack, Will Geddes, CEO of ICP Group said: ‘Westminster is an obvious terrorist target so it is very well protected.
‘It is surrounded by concrete walls and there are specially trained police officers who are well prepared for attacks.
‘It would appear to me that they have done everything they could in this case.’
Speaking of the challenges of preventing a lone wolf attack, Geddes said: ‘It’s always going to be a challenge to prevent lone wolf attacks.’
Swords and imitation guns are just some of the items that have been confiscated by police at public entrances to the Houses of Parliament in the past decade.
In recent years, MPs have been told to consider fitting their constituency offices with panic buttons and designating a ‘safe room’ in their homes.
They are also being briefed on the security plans in case of an attack on the Commons.
Following the stabbing to death of Jo Cox, MPs spent almost £640,000 on boosting security.
During the four months after her murder, politicians spent four times on security measures what they had done in the whole previous year.
Spending on MP’s office and home security also rocketed after Mrs Cox was shot three times and stabbed outside a constituency surgery meeting.
Last year it was revealed that 130 MPs had requested additional security measures, including bomb-proof letter boxes and reinforced windows.
Members have also been offered classes in self-defence techniques in a bid to ward off would-be attackers.
Speaking after the attack, Will Geddes, CEO of ICP Group said: ‘Westminster is an obvious terrorist target so it is very well protected.
‘It is surrounded by concrete walls and there are specially trained police officers who are well prepared for attacks.
‘It would appear to me that they have done everything they could in this case.’
Speaking of the challenges of preventing a lone wolf attack, Geddes said: ‘It’s always going to be a challenge to prevent lone wolf attacks.’
Swords and imitation guns are just some of the items that have been confiscated by police at public entrances to the Houses of Parliament in the past decade.
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