The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Car runs into London Bridge pedestrians
Terrorism struck at the heart of London, police said Sunday, after a vehicle veered off the road and mowed down pedestrians on London Bridge and gunshots rang out amid reports of knife attacks at nearby Borough Market.
The violence turned a summery Saturday night in an area packed with bars and restaurants into a scene of panic and chaos, with officers running through crowded streets screaming for people to flee and lifeboats drafted to help clear the area.
Police said multiple casualties were reported, and British media reported that more than one person had been killed in the rampage.
Prime Minister Theresa May said it was a potential act of terrorism and the Metropolitan Police force said it had declared the attacks as “terrorist incidents.”
Police said they were called just after 10 p.m. to reports of a vehicle hitting pedestrians on the bridge, which crosses the River Thames in central London.
Soon after, there were reported stabbings at nearby Borough Market, an area full of bars and restaurants.
The force said armed officers were sent to the scenes and shots were fired. They did not say if officers fired the shots.
The force initially said officers were also responding to a reported third incident, in the Vauxhall area of London. But they said later that turned out to be an unrelated stabbing.
The force tweeted a warning telling people in the area to run to safety, hide and then call police if it is safe to do so.
May said that “following updates from police and security officials, I can confirm that the terrible incident in London is being treated as a potential act of terrorism.”
She said it was a fast-moving investigation and her thoughts were with “those who are caught up in these dreadful events.”
May’s office said she would chair a meeting of the government’s COBRA emergency committee on Sunday.
About two hours after the first reports of an incident, television images showed people walking away from the London Bridge area with their hands on their heads. Police tweeted that Londoners should “remain calm but be alert and vigilant.”
Nick Brandon of British Transport Police said the force had received reports of “multiple” casualties. He said he did not know how serious the injuries were.
Multiple witnesses reported a vehicle veering off the road and hitting several pedestrians; others also said they saw at least one man with a large knife.
Witnesses reported seeing injured people on the ground on the bridge. One, Holly Jones, told the BBC a white van veered off the road and struck as many as six people. She said she saw at least four or five people on the ground.
Another witness, Will Heaven, said he saw people who appeared to have been hit, and one being put into an ambulance.
“We saw injured people on the road, injured people on the pavement,” he told Sky News.
Soon after, reports came in of stabbings around Borough Market, just steps away from the bridge.
A man who gave only his first name, Ben, told BBC radio that he “saw a man in red with a large blade, at a guess 10 inches long, stabbing a man, about three times” near Borough Market.
Other witnesses reported seeing as many as three attackers with knives.
Gerard Vowls, 47, told The Guardian newspaper that he saw a woman being stabbed by three men at the south end of London Bridge. He said he threw chairs, glasses and bottles at the attackers in a bid to stop them.
“They kept coming to try to stab me . they were stabbing everyone. Evil, evil people,” he told the newspaper. “I want to know if this girl is still alive. I’ve been walking around for an hour and a half crying my eyes out. I don’t know what to do.”