2nd suspect held in London blast — threat lowered
LONDON — British police made progress Sunday in their frantic pursuit of suspects and evidence connected to the bomb that partially exploded on a packed London subway, leading counterterrorism officials to lower the country’s threat level.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd announced the downgraded terror level after London police said a second suspect was in custody and a second property was being searched in connection with Friday’s attack that injured 30 people.
Rudd cautioned that the investigation was ongoing and that Britain still faced a substantial threat even though the terror level had been reset to severe” from “critical.” “Critical” means an attack is believed to be imminent.
“‘Severe’ still means that an attack is highly likely, so I would urge everybody to be vigilant but not alarmed,” she said.
The Islamic State extremist group has said the subway attack was carried out by one of its affiliated units.
The advancing investigation was good news for London commuters who had anticipated heading to work Monday while police were in a frantic bid to round up suspects before they could hit the city again.
Mark Rowley, who heads the police counterterrorism operation, said the traveling public still would see an increased police and military presence in the coming days.
“For practical and precautionary reasons, we made the decision that the increased resources will continue for the beginning of this week,” Rowley said.
He said two properties were being searched and that police had “much more to do.”
The fact that a second person — a 21-year-old man — was arrested under the Terrorism Act offered the clearest proof yet that police and security services believe the subway bombing was not just the work of one person.
The first suspect, an 18-yearold man, was arrested early Saturday in the departure area of the port of Dover, where ferries leave for France. The second was arrested in Hounslow in west London shortly before midnight Saturday.
Both were questioned Sunday at a south London police station. They have not been charged or identified.
The subway bomb caused limited casualties because it failed to completely explode. Officials say 30 people were injured, including some hurt in the panic that ensued, and all but one have been released from the hospital. Most of the injured suffered burns.
The two searches were taking place at a suburban home in Sunbury, southwest of London, and in Stanwell, another suburb close to London Heathrow Airport.
The first search, linked to the first subject, started in Sunbury on Saturday afternoon at a house that belongs to an elderly couple who have for years taken in foster children, including refugees from conflict zones in Syria and Iraq.
The pair — Ronald Jones, 88, and his wife, Penelope Jones, 71 — have been honored by Queen Elizabeth II for their work with children in need of a stable home.
Neighbors said two young men had been staying with them recently.