Londoners Struck By Assailant Near UK Parliament

The attacker rammed his car into a few pedestrians crossing the bridge near the UK Parliament then attacked a police officer. Photo: Express UK

Four people were dead and at least 20 were injured Wednesday after an apparent terrorist attack in central London.

A lone assailant mowed down dozens of pedestrians on Westminster Bridge in a vehicle before killing a police officer with a knife on the grounds of Parliament in the early afternoon. The attacker was shot dead by the police outside Parliament gates.

Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley confirmed that two others died on Westminster Bridge, while a further 20 were injured there.

Rowley told reporters that the police believed there to be only one attacker but that it would be “foolish” to rule out the possibility of more. He advised the public to be vigilant and confirmed that additional officers would patrol the capital Wednesday night and Thursday.

A photo emerged later Wednesday of the man shot by the police:

Journalist Quentin Letts gave an account of what he saw to MSNBC.

“I saw a fairly thick-set man wearing black clothes running through the open gates, the security gates where people drive their cars,” Letts said. “He seemed to have something in his hand, maybe a knife, maybe a stick.”

Letts continued: “He started beating a policeman who had fallen over on the ground. The policeman managed to shake him off and the attacker then ran towards the entrance of the House of Commons, which is used by our members of Parliament and he got about 15 yards before the authorities responded.”

Member of Parliament Tobias Ellwood attempted to give mouth-to-mouth to the stabbed police officer before the officer died.

Aside from the two dead, others are suffering from “catastrophic injuries” after a car mowed down pedestrians on a packed Westminster Bridge no more than a few hundred meters from the houses of Parliament.

At least 10 people have been treated for injuries on the bridge, the London Ambulance Service said in a statement.

Three of the injured are French students, according to French media.

US President Donald Trump called UK Prime Minister Theresa May to express condolences for the attack, the White House said.

“He pledged the full cooperation and support of the United States government in responding to the attack and bringing those responsible to justice,” the White House said.

No terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack. New York Times terrorism correspondent Rukmini Callimachi noted on Twitter, however, that pro-Islamic State channels on the chat app Telegram were talking about the attack.

“Numerous ISIS-linked channels are sharing blow-by-blow updates on events in London,” Callimachi said. She went on to note that this pattern followed that of some recent terrorist attacks: “We saw this post-Paris, post-Nice, post-Orlando etc.”

“The mode of attack, according to reporters at the scene, includes stabbing and car-ramming, both ISIS signatures,” she said.