Earlier on Wednesday, the British Parliament was placed under immediate lockdown due to a terrorist attack. Members of the House of Lords were in the middle of a meeting when they heard shouting through the windows. Only to find out that London’s seat of power was under attack as two terrorists, one with a knife that stabbed a police officer and tried to enter the Britist Parliament building whereas the other assailant was in a car on the Westminster Bridge opposite to the parliament building ran over 5 local pedestrians, killing one in the process.
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Source: NY Times
The security officers of the parliament shot the assailant on sight but it is still unclear as to his identity and whether or not he was the same person that ran over the pedestrians that were on the Westminster Bridge.
Source: The Huffington Post
What We Know So Far
A journalist for The Daily Telegraph, Christopher Hope said at 2:41PM that he heard gunshots outside of the Parliament.
Shots fired outside Parliament. Loud explosion then shooting. Man lying shot outside gates to Parliament. Gun shots outside, Frightening.
— Christopher Hope (@christopherhope) March 22, 2017
Since the location that was under attack was a popular tourist location in London, best known for the “big Ben” which is a part of the Westminster Palace, a lot of people became subject to danger due to this “terrorist attack”.
Source: NY Post
Sources have concluded that the official vehicle of the Prime Minister of Britain, Theresa May was seen speeding away from the Parliament building just minutes after the incident took place.
The police department started its investigation on the matter by immediately putting the entire area on lockdown until further notice. Several ambulances, as well as emergency vehicles including a helicopter, rushed to the busiest part of London to help the injured people.
“@jimwaterson: Helicopter landing on Parliament Square with emergency services. pic.twitter.com/xM7NykR338”
— Mike Walker (@New_Narrative) March 22, 2017
Source: The Huffington Post
Places including the Westminster Station and London’s subway station were closed off immediately.
Source: NY Post
Locals are commenting on how this attack on The British Parliament took place on the anniversary of the suicide bombings that took place at the Brussels Airport as well as subway which ended up taking the lives of 32 people as well as the 3 suicide bombers themselves.
Inside The Parliament
David Lidington who is the leader of the House of Commons in the British Parliament stated that the house is to remain under lockdown on the advice received from the police as well as the director of security until it is safe to reemerge.
Jayne Wilkinson who is 59 and David Turner who is 56 saw the incident take place right before their eyes. The couple claimed that they saw a middle-aged man holding a knife as he ignored all the warnings he received from the police to stop. The man then proceeded to make his way into the compound of the Parliament.
This was just a few moments before the armed assailant was shot down by the police.
Source: The Huffington Post
The White House has reported that the current president of the United States, Donald Trump, has been notified of the incident but there is no official statement yet.
Is London In Deep Trouble?
Since 2007, Britain has been the target of several large-scale terrorist attacks. London has now made its way into the most targeted cities of violence alongside with Paris, Brussels as well as Berlin.
This story is still developing.
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