A British police officer was on Wednesday stabbed and his attacker shot dead near the British Parliament complex, in what Scotland Yard is describing as a “terrorist incident”.
The head of counterterrorism at london's Metropolitan Police said four people have died in the terror incident in london, including an attacker and a police officer.
In a related incident, two people were killed when a speeding grey Hyundai i40 mowed down several pedestrians on Westminster Bridge nearby before ramming into the iron railings on the side of the Palace of Westminster — which houses the House of Commons and lords as well as the iconic Big Ben.
Several injuries were reported as a result of this crash, with bodies seen lying on the bridge and one over-board in the river Thames. “We are treating this as a terrorist incident until we know otherwise,” the Metropo-litan Police said on Twitter.
A search is underway to make certain no other attackers are in the area — though police believe there was only one attacker.
Meanwhile, several countries have condemned the london attack. India late on Wednesday night condemned the terror strike in Westminster near the UK Parliament, saying there is no place for terrorism in democracies and civilised societies. “India strongly condemns Westminster terrorist incident & condoles loss of life. No place in democracies & civilised societies for terrorism (sic),” Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, Gopal Baglay tweeted.
“No Indian causalities in attack reported so far, am in touch with High Commission in london,” Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said.
The incident unfolded as a man tried to gain entry into the Parliament via the main entrance and stabbed a police officer. Plainclothes armed officers shouted warnings at him before shooting a number of rounds. He was later seen being covered by blankets, presumed dead.
British Prime Minister Theresa May, who had just completed her weekly Prime Minister’s Questions, was seen being ushered into a car as gunfire rang out at Parliament during the incident. It remains unclear exactly how many attackers may have been involved in the terror incident, though it is believed it was one knife-man behind the mowing down of pedestrians and the attack on the police officer.
Downing Street said the PM was “safe” as emergency services helicopter was seen landing in Parliament Square, which has been cordoned off and closed to traffic.
“We are working closely with other members of the emergency services at the scene, with our priority being to ensure patients receive the medical help they need as quickly as possible. We have declared a major incident and our priority is to assess patients and ensure that they are treated and taken to hospital as soon as possible,” london Ambulance said in a statement.
Commons leader David lidington, who suspended the Parliament session as this unfolded outside, told MPs the “alleged assailant was shot by armed police”.
MPs and peers remain in lockdown inside the Parliament building, along with other workers in buildings in surrounding areas. A number of schoolchildren are also being held back until the police cordon is lifted. There was chaos in the heart of london as crowds of people were seen running and being pushed back by Scotland Yard officers.
Dennis Burns, who was just entering Parliament for a meeting, told the Press Association he heard a radio message saying an officer had been stabbed. Police and security rushed outside as he was going in. “When I got inside I was wondering what the hell was going on and I saw dozens of panicked people running down the street,” he said. “The first stream was around 30 people and the second stream was 70 people. It looked like they were running for their lives.”