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Five Dead and 40 Injured in ‘Terror’ Attack Outside UK Parliament
21st Century Wire says…
Earlier today a knife attacker was shot by armed police after a car mowed down pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and charged the gates of parliament, in what police are treating as a terrorist incident.
Police have now confirmed that five people have now died as a result of Wednesday’s attack and 40 people have been injured. The lockdown of Westminster is over, police have confirmed.
Mark Rowley, acting deputy commissioner of the Met, said hundreds of officers would continue through the night in their work on the investigation into the attack.
“We are forensically examining a complicated crime scene that covers a wide area, and as with all investigations of this nature it will take us some time to work through the painstaking work necessary to get all of the relevant evidence.”
A London air ambulance landed inside Parliament Square shortly after the incident…
00:00 GMT – Latest updates
- The lockdown of Westminster is over, police have confirmed
- Five people are dead, including a police officer and the alleged attacker
- Several others have “catastrophic” injuries after a car reportedly mounted the pavement on Westminster Bridge and “tried to mow people down”
- A woman was treated after “falling” from bridge into the River Thames
- A police officer is dead after being stabbed inside Parliament grounds
- The alleged assailant is dead after being shot by armed police
- At least 40 people have been injured
- Police are treating the incident as terrorism
- Police believe there was only one attacker, although early reports suggested a secondary assailant
- Downing Street says May will chair a COBRA emergency meeting tonight after the attack on UK parliament
Five people have died, including one woman, the alleged attacker and a police officer.
“We think we know who the attacker is,” Acting Deputy Commissioner & national lead for Counter Terrorism Policing Mark Rowley said but stated that they were not willing to divulge the assailant’s name at this time, though they did admit that it “Islamic terrorism is our assumption.”
A/Dep Cmsr Rowley: “At this stage – but it may change – we believe approx 40 people were injured including three police officers.”
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) March 22, 2017
Police have also named the officer who died as 48-year-old husband and father PC Keith Palmer, a 15-year veteran of the force.
WARNING: Some readers may find certain embedded images distressing
BREAKING: This is the man @PA is reporting is the attacker https://t.co/Rglrp4c7ee pic.twitter.com/JFMJEZDFPW
— Guido Fawkes (@GuidoFawkes) March 22, 2017
Shaky video of commotion after Parliament shooting. pic.twitter.com/ofGZwcMgaA
— Patrick Daly (@thepatrickdaly) March 22, 2017
Close up image of knife used by terrorist in #London attack. pic.twitter.com/Cllt5TwKv0
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) March 22, 2017
London Ambulance Service says it has treated at least 10 patients on Westminster Bridge.
An eyewitness has told Sky News he saw a body “face down” in the Thames. Witnesses said people either jumped or were knocked over the side of the bridge as the car mounted the pavement and struck a number of pedestrians.
A spokesman for the Port of London Authority, which looks after safety on the river, said a female member of the public had been recovered from the water near Westminster bridge after she “fell” or “jumped” in.
“A female member of the public was recovered alive from the water, but with serious injuries. She has been brought ashore and is undergoing urgent medical treatment. The working assumption is that she fell or jumped from the bridge.”
My statement on the incident near Parliament Square this afternoon. Please visit https://t.co/NzFxlDdZ9N for the latest information. pic.twitter.com/T4s43cGzub
— Mayor of London (@MayorofLondon) March 22, 2017
Shocking videos and photographs show people lying on the bridge, bleeding heavily, with members of the public rushing to their aid. There is no official estimate of the number injured in the incident.
See more pictures from the terrorist incident in Westminster
An eyewitness, Richard Tice, described what he saw to RT.
“I came out of Westminster Tube at about 2:45pm when police were locking down the tube, ushering people out away from Parliament. I was ushered onto Westminster Bridge, and then I looked across the bridge, onto the west pavement,” he recalled.
“For the whole length of the bridge, from south to north, there were people lying on the ground and I was then told that a car had driven from the south end all the way up the pavement to the north end of the bridge. I counted at least eight people clearly injured on the ground.”
Incident in #Westminster: We are treating this as a terrorist incident until we know otherwise
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) March 22, 2017
Another witness described seeing a middle-aged man carrying a knife running towards the Palace of Westminster.
Jayne Wilkinson told Sky News: “We were taking photos of Big Ben and we saw all the people running towards us, and then there was an Asian guy in about his 40s carrying a knife about seven or eight inches long.
“And then there were three shots fired, and then we crossed the road and looked over. The man was on the floor with blood.
“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.”
According to Doug Weeks, terrorism expert at London Metropolitan University, the attack, while softened by the high security presence in the area, could have been far bloodier.
“Well certainly within the Parliament compound itself, that is by far one of the most secure areas within London. There are numerous police officers and other security personnel that work in that area as well as around that area, thus it’s not surprising that the police have a very rapid response to this incident,” Weeks told RT.
“Given the location and the number of people at Westminster bridge at any particular time – that is a very crowded place – and reports so far are saying that there is likely five or six people that are injured. And although I’m not saying by any measure that this incident is a minor incident, but given the number of people that frequent that location, I would also have to say this could have been significantly worse,” he said.
Ariel view of Parliament scenes of the apparent security breach and shooting incident pic.twitter.com/8kjhB2RMxy
— Ed Fraser (@frasereC4) March 22, 2017
Number 10 says prime minister Theresa May is safe. The spokesman declined to say where May was when the attack took place.
It is understood, however, she was rushed to a car 40 yards from the gates outside parliament where the shots were fired minutes after the attack. She was ushered by at least eight armed undercover police, some with their firearms drawn…
Follow this developing story LIVE at RT
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Source: http://21stcenturywire.com/2017/03/22/breaking-five-dead-and-40-injured-in-terror-attack-outside-uk-parliament/
