Car crashes into UK Parliament barrier
LONDON (AP) — A car slammed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament yesterday, injuring a number of pedestrians.
London’s Metropolitan Police said that they are treating the crash outside of Parliament as a terrorist incident.
Authorities said in a statement yesterday that a man in his 20s was arrested on suspicion of terrorist offenses after the silver Ford Fiesta collided with a number of cyclists and pedestrians before crashing into the barriers during the morning rush hour.
He is in custody. No one else was in the car, which is being searched at the scene of the accident.
Armed police swooped into the area and cordoned off streets surrounding the heart of Britain’s government.
Police appealed to the public to stay away, and the Westminster Tube station was closed.
The area was the site of a terror attack in March 2017 when Khalid Masood ploughed a car into crowds on Westminster Bridge, killing four people.
Masood abandoned his car then stabbed and killed a police officer before being shot in a courtyard outside Parliament.
In yesterday’s incident, the car slammed into barriers that had been extended following the Westminster Bridge attack.
Eyewitnesses quoted in British media said they thought the crash looked deliberate.
Meanwhile, London’s Metropolitan Police say that the Counter-Terrorism Command is leading the investigation.
There were a number of people injured in yesterday’s incident, though none are in life-threatening condition.