Westminster terror
Multiple arrests followed a deadly rampage in the heart of Britain’s seat of power in which a knifewielding man plowed a car into pedestrians before killing a cop. Other officers killed the attacker.
British police last night arrested at least eight people in the investigation into an attacker who killed three people and injured about 40 before being shot dead by police, Britain’s most senior counter-terrorism officer said.
Mark Rowley said yesterday the latest figures were that there were four dead, including the attacker, and 29 people were being treated in hospital, seven of whom were in a critical condition. Police had earlier said the death toll was five.
Among the dead was one of their own, PC Keith Palmer, 48, who was stabbed to death by the lone attacker. Palmer’s bravery was hailed by the prime minister, the city’s mayor, colleagues, friends and the many MPs whom he was charged with protecting.
The three other fatalities were understood to be people who were hit by the car on Westminster Bridge.
A teacher from a college in the area on way to pick up her children from school was reported to be among the dead. Aysha Frade, 43, was killed as she walked across Westminster Bridge.
Rowley said police had searched addresses in London, Birmingham and other parts of the country in their investigation.
‘‘It is still our belief . . . that this attacker . . . was inspired by international terrorism. At this stage we have no specific information about further threats to the public,’’ Rowley said.
He said there was a mix of nationalities among the dead but gave no details. The victims were a policeman who was stabbed and two members of the public, a woman in her mid-40s and a man in his mid-50s. The fourth dead was the assailant.
Police believe they know the identity of the attacker but have not named him.
The attack started when the assailant sped across Westminster Bridge in a car, ramming pedestrians along the way. He then ran towards parliament and stabbed the policeman before he was shot.
Three French high school students aged 15 or 16, who were on a school trip to London with fellow students from Brittany, were among the injured.
French Foreign Minister JeanMarc Ayrault was expected to arrive in London to visit them at hospital, French media reported.
Westminster Bridge remained cordoned off with a strong police presence. The nearby Westminster underground train station, normally a busy hub in the morning rush hour, was not accessible from street level as it was within the cordon.
Parliament was due to convene later in what Prime Minister Theresa May said was a sign the attack would not disrupt British democracy or normal life in the capital.
In July last year, 86 people were killed and 434 people injured when a 19-tonne cargo truck was deliberately driven into crowds celebrating Bastille Day along the Riviera in Nice, France.
Five months later, in December, a lone attacker drove a truck into a Berlin Christmas market that left 12 people dead and 56 injured.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the people of his city would not cower after the terror attack.