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Four people, including an armed police officer, have been killed after a knifeman brought terror to the heart of Westminster.
Theresa May is to chair a Cobra committee to discuss the response to the bloody incident at the Palace of Westminster.
The attacker, armed with two large knives, mowed down pedestrians with his car on Westminster Bridge, including schoolchildren, then rushed at the gates in front of the Houses of Parliament, stabbing the policeman before being shot dead by other officers.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of terror when gunfire rang out as the man approached a second officer.
Scotland Yard’s top anti-terror officer Mark Rowley said the two other fatalities were on the bridge when the terrorist struck. At least 20 other people were injured.
(Stefan Rousseau/PA)
Paramedics fought to save the officer’s life and that of his attacker on the floor of the cobbled courtyard in front of Parliament, with Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood among those who rushed to help.
The police officer was wheeled away on a stretcher with his face covered.
1/2 I know the whole country will be thinking of & praying for those affected this terrible incident. Our top priority is people's security.
— Amber Rudd MP (@AmberRudd_MP) March 22, 2017
2/2 We have the best police & security services in the world & we will let them get on with their job.
— Amber Rudd MP (@AmberRudd_MP) March 22, 2017
Our thoughts are with the victims of today’s attack in London & their families. Canadians remain united with the people of the UK.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) March 22, 2017
Mr Ellwood, who lost his brother in the Bali bombing, could be seen pumping the officer’s chest then standing above him, his hands and face smeared with blood.
Conservative MP @Tobias_Ellwood stands among emergency services outside the UK Parliament in Westminster
????: @StefanRousseau pic.twitter.com/GdelsK6B13— Press Association (@PA) March 22, 2017
Other armed officers, some in plain clothes and wearing balaclavas, swarmed around the yard just feet from where MPs had earlier attended Prime Minister’s Questions.
One woman was killed on Westminster Bridge after a number of pedestrians were mowed down by a car.
It is believed a second person was killed in the incident on the bridge.
Another woman ended up in the Thames and was treated for serious injuries after being pulled from the water.
A group of French schoolchildren were among those targeted on the bridge.
The attacker jumped out the car and fatally stabbed a police officer in the grounds of the Palace of Westminster.
The knifeman was shot dead moments later by another officer.
Police are treating the incident as a terrorist attack.
Prime Minister Theresa May will be chairing a meeting of the Government’s emergency Cobra committee.
(Lauren Hurley/PA)
The knifeman drove a grey Hyundai i40 across Westminster Bridge before crashing it into railings then running through the gates of the Palace of Westminster.
His attack left a trail of destruction as paramedics tended to victims on the bridge and at the gate.
One woman hit by the attacker’s car before he reached Parliament was confirmed dead by a doctor at St Thomas’ Hospital. She said others on the bridge suffered ‘catastrophic injuries’.
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
Full statement from Commander Harrington following the incident in #Westminster #London pic.twitter.com/vMPCXKq2Ft
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) March 22, 2017
London Ambulance Service said paramedics had treated at least 10 patients on Westminster Bridge.
A party of French schoolchildren were among those targeted on the bridge, with three injured.
Police forensic officers close to the Palace of Westminster (Yui Mok/PA)
Eyewitness Rick Longley described the attack.
“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.”
An air ambulance lands outside the Palace of Westminster (Victoria Jones/PA)
(Stefan Rousseau/PA)
An air ambulance landed in Parliament Square and a regular ambulance came in through the front gates as medics rushed to help.
Armed police cleared the area around the incident and Parliament Square and surrounding streets were closed to traffic while Parliament went into lockdown.
As the sitting in the House of Commons was suspended, Commons Leader David Lidington told MPs: “What I am able to say to the House is there has been a serious incident within the estate.
“It seems that a police officer has been stabbed, that the alleged assailant was shot by armed police.”
Photo shows police officer pointing gun at man outside Parliament following Westminster terror attack
????: @StefanRousseau pic.twitter.com/NzajEQofTV— Press Association (@PA) March 22, 2017
Westminster incident comes exactly a year after suicide bomb attacks on the Brussels airport and underground system, which killed 32 people.
— Alan Jones (@AlanJonesPA) March 22, 2017
Witnesses described seeing a heavy-set man carrying a knife and running towards the Houses of Parliament.
Jayne Wilkinson said: “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.”
(Victoria Jones/PA)
(Victoria Jones/PA)
A group of young boxers who witnessed the attack said the terrorist pursued the officer.
Frazer Clarke, 25, from Burton-on-Trent, said: “We heard a loud bang and screaming and then I noticed some smoke. I thought it was a car crash.
“I looked towards the front gate and people were running, a police officer and a fellow coming to the gate with two knives.
Nicky Morgan tells @PA about hearing shots pic.twitter.com/JMMn4iuyCE
— kateferguson (@kateferguson4) March 22, 2017
My thoughts with all the victims of today's horrific terrorist attack. A brave police officer lost his life protecting us & our democracy
— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) March 22, 2017
“He was stabbing the police officer with the knives. He was wearing black tracksuit bottoms, a black of grey top and what looked like work boots.
“The police officer was stumbling and fell on the floor. Another police officer walked toward the guy with the knives and shot him twice.”
Both the House of Commons and Lords will sit at their usual times the day after the assault, parliamentary authorities announced.
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