Terrorism at Parliament in London, at Least 3 Injured: Here's What Happened
Police in the United Kingdom have arrested a man who crashed a car into pedestrians before slamming into barriers next to Parliament. They're investigating the incident as a terror attack.
The driver of the car, a 29-year-old resident of England's Midlands region, was captured at the scene. The man is a British citizen who immigrated to England from Sudan. Police say the man was not known to police or counterterrorism units and was not on a watch list.
The crash, which took place at 7:37 on Tuesday morning, injured at least three pedestrians. None of their injuries are reportedly life-threatening and police say no one else was in the car with the attacker.
The Houses of Parliament have large steel and concrete security barriers, which stopped the car.
"The car drove at speed into the barriers outside the House of Lords. There was a loud bang from the collision and a bit of smoke," Ewelina Ochab told The Associated Press. "The driver did not get out. The guards started screaming to people to move away."
Other eyewitnesses said the silver car was traveling at high speed when the driver targeted pedestrians and cyclists before crashing into a barrier.
"Given that this appears to be a deliberate act, the method and this being an iconic site, we are treating it as a terrorist incident," Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu of the Metropolitan Police Service told reporters outside Scotland Yard.
Another terrorist attack in London...These animals are crazy and must be dealt with through toughness and strength!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 14, 2018
British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is vacationing in Switzerland, praised "the formidable courage of our emergency services and urged the public "to remain vigilant - but also to come together and carry on as normal."
"The twisted aim of the extremists is to use violence and terror to divide us," May said in a statement Tuesday. "They will never succeed."
Meanwhile, the British government has opted not to elevate its terror threat level beyond "severe," reasoning that no other suspects have been identified and that no further threat to residents.
Previous UK Terrorist Attacks
Unfortunately, the United Kingdom has seen its share of terrorist attacks in recent years.
In June 2017, seven people were killed and dozens injured when three men rammed pedestrians with a car at London Bridge. The men, who were later arrested, then went on a stabbing rampage at nearby Borough Market.
The Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Also in June last year, a British man drove a van into Muslim worshippers near Finsbury Park Mosque, in north London.
And 22 people were killed and hundreds injured during a bombing attack at the end of an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester in May 2017. ISIS claimed the 22-year-old British perpetrator of Libyan descent as one of its own.
Three people were killed and dozens wounded by a lone attacker near Britain's Parliament in London in March last year. The attacker was shot and killed by police.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack as well.
