An as yet unidentified man who killed several people on Westminster Bridge ran from his wrecked car and tried to enter Parliament at which point he attacked a policeman with his knife and was subsequently shot by officers.
Westminster Bridge, 2:40 p.m.
A large SUV-type vehicle was being driven across Westminster Bridge when it swerved onto the sidewalk running down a number of pedestrians and striking the high fence around the Parliament Complex. Leaving the disabled vehicle the terrorist approached the building where he stabbed a police officer to death and was himself shot and killed by other police.
That brings the total number of deaths in this incident to four but some of the injured are reportedly in very serious condition in hospital.
Since this was a Wednesday Prime Minister May was in Parliament for question day. At the sound of a car crash and gunshots, the Prime Minister was rushed out of the building and to her office where she spoke with US President Donald trump.
Heroic action
In a news conference Cmdr. B.J. Harrington (Metropolitan Police) asked the public to stay away from the area involved in the terrorist attack and also to report any suspicious activity. He also asked the public to share any photographs or video of the incident but to show consideration for the loved ones of those who were killed and injured.
As police rushed to the location, conservative PM Tobias Ellwood, a Foreign Office minister who happened to be nearby, tried unsuccessfully to save the life of the police officer who had been stabbed by giving the fallen officer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
As of 7:30 p.m. GMT the Parliament Complex was still under lockdown.
According to The National Post, one physician who worked on some of those injured in the terrorist attack described the injuries of some of the victims as “catastrophic.”
Although this is still very preliminary, Mark Rowley, the counterterrorism chief of the Metropolitan Police told reporters that it appeared to be an attack by only one person.
The incident has been declared a terrorist attack. At this time the police are working to be sure there are no others involved and that this wasn’t just a diversionary attack to draw police and government attention from some other target. In a photograph of medics working on the terrorist, it appears he is a relatively young, dark-skinned male with close-cropped black hair and a small beard.
