Crash suspect not known to authorities
LONDON: A man held on suspicion of deliberately targeting pedestrians outside the UK Parliament is Salih Khater, a British citizen of Sudanese origin who was not previously known to intelligence agencies, a European security source says.
Police arrested a 29yearold man after he appeared to drive his car at cyclists and pedestrians before ramming his car into barriers at Westminster on Tuesday.
‘‘It is still being treated as terrorism but the motive is unknown as yet,’’ a European security source said.
Police gave no further details about the man’s identity.
The Press Association reported a Facebook page for a man of the same name says he lives in Birmingham, works as a shop manager, and has studied at Sudan University of Science and Technology.
A silver Ford Fiesta used in the attack was driven from Birmingham to London late on Monday and spent almost five hours in the Tottenham Court Rd area.
It was then driven around the Westminster area for more than 90 minutes before it crashed into a security barrier just before 7.40am on Tuesday.
Three people were injured after the vehicle hit cyclists and pedestrians during the rush hour.
Counterterrorism officers have since conducted searches at two addresses in Birmingham and a residential property in Nottingham, as part of the probe.
Police officers could be seen outside an address in Peveril St, Nottingham, on Tuesday evening, said by neighbours to be home to six Sudanese people.
The suspect, who was said to not be cooperating with officers, was not known to security services, Metropolitan Police counterterrorism head Neil Basu said.
He said the apparent deliber ate nature of the act, the method used and the ‘‘iconic’’ location of Parliament led the force to treat it as a terrorist incident.
Footage aired on BBC News showed the car’s approach towards Parliament, where it crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with cyclists before entering a small road and crashing into a security barrier.
Images posted online showed a man wearing a black puffer jacket being led away in handcuffs from the car as armed police swarmed the scene.
There was nobody else in the vehicle, no weapons were found, and no other suspects had been identified, police said.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May urged the nation to carry on as normal and praised the ‘‘formidable courage’’ of the emergency services.