London - Officials say a man with a knife attacked a police officer at Parliament and was shot by officers
Published: Wed 22 Mar 2017, 6:02 PM
Last updated: Thu 23 Mar 2017, 1:07 AM
An assailant stabbed a policeman and was shot by police just outside Britain's parliament building in London on Wednesday in what police described as a "terrorist incident".
Amid confusing scenes, it appeared the incident may have unfolded in several locations, including on the nearby Westminster bridge where eyewitnesses said a car had crashed into pedestrians.
Four people died in the incident, according to Sky News, but the total number of casualties was unclear.
"Officers - including firearms officers - remain on the scene and we are treating this as a terrorist incident until we know otherwise," London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
The incident took place on the first anniversary of attacks by militants that killed 32 people in Brussels.
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According to AFP, a woman has been killed and some 'catastrophic' injuries have been reported during the UK parliament attack.
Witness Rick Longley told the Press Association that he saw a man stab a policeman outside Britain's Parliament.
"We were just walking up to the station and there was a loud bang and a guy, someone, crashed a car and took some pedestrians out," he said.
"They were just laying there and then the whole crowd just surged around the corner by the gates just opposite Big Ben.
"A guy came past my right shoulder with a big knife and just started plunging it into the policeman.
"I have never seen anything like that. I just can't believe what I just saw."
Lawmaker Adam Holloway told the AP he saw people running and immediately ran into his offices in Parliament to be with his staff. "A lot of us are locked in with our staff at the moment," he said.
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3:50 p.m.
The White House says U.S. President Donald Trump has been briefed on a gun and knife incident at Britain's Parliament in London.
Trump himself said during a brief appearance Wednesday before reporters at the White House that he was just getting the news. He called it "big news."
Trump's spokesman, Sean Spicer, says the U.S. will continue to monitor the situation and update the president.
Britain's Parliament was on lockdown after - according to officials - an assailant stabbed an officer then was shot by police.
London Police also said officers were called to an incident on nearby Westminster Bridge
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3:40 p.m.
British lawmaker Grant Shapps said on Twitter that he was walking through the cloisters of the House of Commons to vote when he heard four gunshots. Police told lawmakers to get down on the ground and crawl to cover.
"Police response instant. Heard commotion, looked round. Police weapons drawn, 4 shots, police ordered us to hit ground & get back, get back," he said.
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3:40 p.m.
The former Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski posted a video on Twitter that seems to show people lying injured in the road on Westminster Bridge.
Sikorski, a senior fellow at the Harvard Centre for European Studies, says he saw at least five people lying on the ground after being "mown down" by a car.
Sikorski told the BBC he "heard what I thought what I thought was just a collision and then I looked through the window of the taxi and someone down, obviously in great distress.
"Then I saw a second person down, and I started filming, then I saw three more people down, one of them bleeding profusely."
London police say they are treating a gun and knife incident at Britain's Parliament "as a terrorist incident until we know otherwise".
The Metropolitan Police says in a statement that the incident is ongoing. It is urging people to stay away from the area.
Officials say a man with a knife attacked a police officer at Parliament and was shot by officers.
There are also reports of a vehicle hitting pedestrians on nearby Westminster Bridge.
3:25 p.m.
A European security official says there was increased chatter on militant networks on Tuesday following the UK's adoption of an electronics ban aboard flights from certain mostly Muslim countries.
He said, however, there was no information that the incident was terror-related.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about ongoing security operations.
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3:15 p.m.
The leader of Britain's House of Commons says a man attacked a police officer at Parliament and has been shot by police.
David Lidington says the Parliament complex is in lockdown.
He says there are reports of further violent incidents neaby, and police say they have been called to a firearms incident on nearby Westminster Bridge.
Witnesses said a vehicle struck several people on the bridge, and photos showed a car plowed into railings.
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3:05 p.m.
The leader of Britain's House of Commons says a man has been shot by police at Parliament. David Lidington also said there were "reports of further violent incidents in the vicinity."
London's police said officers had been called to a firearms incident on Westminster Bridge, near the parliament.
A session of Parliament was suspended after the incident.
Britain's MI5 says it is too early to say if the incident is terror-related.
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2:55 p.m.
A session of Britain's House of Commons has been suspended as witnesses reported hearing sounds like gunfire nearby.
The Commons' speaker suspended the session as police responded to an incident.
Journalists at the Parliament building said they were told to stay in their offices.
The Press Association news agency reported that two people were seen lying within the grounds of Parliament.
Police had no immediate confirmation.
Roads are closed off by police after sounds similar to gunfire have been heard close to the Houses of Parliament, London, Wednesday, March 22, 2017. AP
A man lies injured after a shooting incident on Westminster Bridge in London, March 22, 2017. Reuters
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