At least two people were killed and another
three injured in a stabbing attack at London Bridge, police has announced.
Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick told a press conference the stabbing
attack, which has been declared a terrorist incident, began at an event at
Fishmonger’s Hall.
Within five minutes of being called officers confronted the suspect – who
was shot dead by police – she said.
The suspect was wearing what is thought to have been a hoax explosive
device.
Dozens of people were in attendance, including students from Cambridge
University and former prisoners.
Cambridge University said it was “gravely concerned” about reports
of its students and staff being caught up in the attack and was urgently
seeking further information.
Cressida Dick said police were working at “full tilt” to
understand what had happened and whether anyone else was involved.
Officers were still working to identify the dead, she said.
Of the injured people, one is critical but stable, a second is stable and a
third has less serious injuries, the head of the NHS, Simon Stevens said.
Details of what happened are still emerging, but videos on social media
appear to show passers-by holding down the suspect on London Bridge.
Another man in a suit could be seen running from him, having apparently
retrieved a large knife.
Footage then shows an officer arriving, seeming to indicate to the group to
move, and firing a shot.
The actions of the public have been widely praised, including by PM Boris Johnson.
Police says detectives are continuing to search a number of addresses, including one in Carmarthenshire, three in Birmingham and one in east London. Addresses in Brighton and south-east London have also been searched.
He stabbed Officer Keith Palmer before being shot dead.
Police said there had been no prior intelligence about Khalid Masood’s intention to carry out an attack.
However, he was known to the police and his previous convictions included causing grievous bodily harm, possession of offensive weapons and public order offences.
Khalid Masood’s first conviction was in November 1983 for criminal damage and his last in December 2003 for possession of a knife.
He had not been convicted of any terrorism offences.
Scotland Yard said Khalid Masood “is not at this early stage believed to be his birth name” and that research into his aliases was being carried out.
Car rental company Enterprise said the vehicle used in the attack had been rented from its Spring Hill depot in Birmingham.
Seven people have been arrested in raids following London attack that left four dead, police have said.
Acting Deputy Commissioner and Head of Counter Terrorism Mark Rowley said hundreds of detectives have worked through the night, carrying out searches at six addresses.
Those who died were a woman in her 40s, a man in his 50s, police officer Keith Palmer and the attacker, he said.
Seven of the injured are still in hospital in a critical condition.
A further 29 had been treated in hospital, Mark Rowley added.
He then stabbed a policeman and was shot dead by police in the grounds of Parliament.
In a statement made outside Scotland Yard, Mark Rowley said: “The inquiries in Birmingham, London and other parts of the country are continuing.
“It is still our belief – which continues to be borne out by our investigation – that this attacker acted alone and was inspired by international terrorism.
“To be explicit, at this stage we have no specific information about further threats to the public.”
Mark Rowley said he would not name the bridge victims yet, who were “a mix of nationalities”, and urged journalists not to publish the attacker’s name while searches were continuing.
He said Londoners should expect to see more police officers on the streets, after officers’ leave had been cancelled and duty hours extended.
It was initially thought that three members of the public had been killed on Westminster Bridge, but Mark Rowley referred to just two in his statement.
Donald Trump Jr. has criticized London Mayor Sadiq Khan, shortly after the terror attack on the UK capital that killed four people on March 22.
President Donald Trump’s son tweeted an article written last year, in which Sadiq Khan said terror vigilance had become “part and parcel” of life in a global city.
“You have to be kidding me?!” said Donald Trump Jr., immediately sparking accusations that he was exploiting the tragedy and misrepresenting the mayor’s point.
The attacker drove a car through pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and then fatally knifed a police officer who tried to stop him entering the Houses of Parliament. He was then shot dead.
Two hours later, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted an article from the Independent newspaper in September 2016.
The tweet added: “Terror attacks are part of living in a big city, says London Mayor Sadiq Khan.”
Image source Flickr
In the article, Sadiq Khan was speaking shortly before a meeting with New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, on the day after three bombs exploded in New York City and nearby towns, wounding 29 people.
The attacks had given him a sleepless night, he said, as he pondered the dangers faced by big Western cities like New York and London.
“Part and parcel of living in a great global city is you have to be prepared for these sorts of things, you have to be vigilant, you have to support the police doing an incredibly hard job, you have to support the security services,” Sadiq Khan said.
On March 22, after the attack in Westminster, Mayor Khan said that Londoners “will never be cowed by terrorism” and that the city stood together in the face of those seeking it harm.
Sadiq Khan, London’s first Muslim mayor, has previously clashed with Donald Trump Jr’s father, in January denouncing his travel ban as “shameful and cruel”.
In 2016, Sadiq Khan accused the then-candidate Trump of being “ignorant” about Islam.
Donald Trump responded by challenging the mayor to an IQ test.
The president’s eldest son, who now manages his father’s business and has no White House role, has been accused of insensitivity before.
A video tonight emerged of a man with b****ied hands, carrying knives and ranting “We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you”, after a serving soldier was ha**ed to death by two men just 200 yards from an Army barracks.
The man can be seen and heard talking to the camera. The video came as terrified eyewitnesses saw two men shot by police marksmen after the machete attack in Woolwich, south-east London.
The two men are thought to have waited around for 20 minutes until Metropolitan Police officers arrived and then tried to attack them – but were swiftly shot by armed policemen, including a woman.
They apparently shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is great in Arabic), and tried to film the attack, the BBC’s political editor Nick Robinson said.
British Home Secretary Theresa May tonight called a meeting of the Government’s emergency Cobra committee in response to the machete and knife attack on the man who was wearing a Help for Heroes t-shirt.
Theresa May said she had been briefed on the killing by the head of MI5 and police later confirmed they were treating the incident as a possible terror attack.
Meanwhile PM David Cameron cancelled a meeting with French President Francois Hollande to return to London. He said Britain has faced similar terror attacks before and added: “We will never buckle in the face of it.”
Before the dramatic video of the b****ied man was obtained by ITV News, eyewitnesses said the “crazed” men in their 20s launched a ferocious attack and were “ha**ing, ch***ing and cu**ing him”.
In footage released by ITV News, a man with b****ied hands carrying a knife and a machete addresses people holding a camera, where he appears to attempt to justify the incident.
Speaking to those recording the scene he says: “I apologize that women had to witness this today, but in our land our women have to see the same.
“You people will never be safe. Remove your government, they don’t care about you.”
In footage obtained by The Sun, the man can also be heard saying: “You think David Cameron is going to get caught in the street when we start busting our guns you think politicians are going to die?
“No it’s going to be the average guy, like you, and your children. So get rid of them. Tell them to bring our troops back so you can all live in peace.”
Following his outburst, the man walks back towards where the victim is lying in the middle of the road. He then speaks to another man as they stand near to the victim.
Women are later seen bravely tending to the man lying. The footage appears to have been taken before any of the emergency services have arrived at the scene.
Later footage has also emerged from shortly after police fired at two men. One of the men can be seen lying in the road, while the second is laid on the pavement.
The footage taken after the shootings was reported to have been taken by a man who had been on a bus on his way to a job interview.
PM David Cameron said on Twitter that “the killing in Woolwich is truly shocking – I have asked the Home Secretary to chair a Cobra meeting”.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “The Queen is of course concerned by the report of an attack in Woolwich earlier today. Her Majesty is being kept informed.”
The spokesman also confirmed the Queen will visit the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery at Woolwich barracks on May 31, which was planned before today’s attack.
This afternoon the area’s MP, Nick Raynsford, told BBC Radio 5 Live he believed the victim, a man aged in his 20s, was a serving soldier.
The man is believed to have been hacked to death after a car crash. The scene of the attack is just 200 yards from Woolwich Barracks.
Man who killed British soldier with a machete in Woolwich
Nick Raynsford said: “We think a serving soldier was the victim. We don’t know the circumstances surrounding the incident. We do know a number of weapons have been seized.
“They include a gun, various knives, and a machete, apparently. The police clearly had to take action in order to try and arrest these individuals.”
The Ministry of Defence said it was urgently looking at the reports that the incident involved a soldier but had no further comment.
Footage from a TV news helicopter showed a large number of weapons lying in the street following the incident. A London Ambulance Service spokesman said one man had died at the scene.
He added: “Our staff treated two others. Both men were taken to hospital, one of them is in a serious condition, the other is not.”
One witness, identified as James, said he and his partner saw two black men attack the young victim with knives, including a meat cleaver.
“They were hacking at this poor guy, literally,” he told LBC.
Metropolitan Police Commander Simon Letchford confirmed tonight that the two attackers were shot by armed officers.
He said in a statement: “At approximately 1420 we were called to reports of an assault in John Wilson Street, Woolwich, where one man was being assaulted by two other men.
“A number of weapons were reportedly being used in the attack and this included reports of a firearm.
“Officers including local Greenwich officers arrived at the scene and shortly after firearms officers arrived on the scene.
“On their arrival at the scene they found a man, who was later pronounced dead. At this early stage I am unable to provide any further information about the man who has died.
“Two men, who we believe from early reports to have been carrying weapons,were shot by police. They were taken to separate London hospitals. They are receiving treatment for their injuries.
“I can understand that this incident will cause community concerns and I would like to reiterate that we are investigating what has taken place today.”
Luke Huseyin, 32, who lives in a block of flats on John Wilson Street, Woolwich, close to where the incident happened said he watched two men murder a man before being shot.
He said: “I was at home and heard a big bang. I looked out of the window and saw a car had crashed.
“It was a blue Vauxhall. Then two black guys got out of the car dragging a white guy across the road towards the wall. One of the guys had a knife that looked about a foot long and a machete and the other bloke had a gun.
“They started slashing him up with the knife and hitting him in the stomach with the machete. I don’t think it took long before he was dead. There were people passing by who were screaming and running away. I’ve never seen anything like it.
“I’m still really shaken up. When he was dead, they dragged him out into the road and left him there. It was strange, they didn’t run off, they just stood there as if they were waiting for the police.
“It must have taken about 20 minutes for the police to arrive, I think it must’ve been because they were waiting for armed police.
“The police officers got out of the car and the two black men ran towards them with the gun.
“The police shot them. They fell to the ground. Then a helicopter landed. Think it must’ve been an air ambulance.
“The paramedics got out and I think they were working on the two men to try and keep them alive.
“I don’t know if they died, they were taken away in the helicopter. A blanket was put over the white guy lying in the road. I just can’t believe what I saw.”
Mother-of-four Julia Wilders, 51, said she was travelling past the scene and saw two men hacking at a man with meat cleavers.
“Graham was driving and we drove past the car which was up against a lamp post.
“There were two black guys that looked like they were trying to resuscitate a white guy on the floor. I thought there’d been an accident.
“But then I saw they were using meat cleavers to hack him up. We live just behind where it happened and once we got back we walked back to have a look and that’s when I saw one of the black guys pull out a handgun.
“My husband screamed at me to get back. I was petrified. As I was running back I saw the police pull up and the black guy was running towards the police car and they shot him.
“I didn’t see anything else, I just run back home.”
David Dixon is the headteacher of Mulgrave Primary School, which is located about 50 metres from the scene of the incident. He saw a body in the road after realizing something was happening and immediately locked down the school.
He said: “It was at the end of our road. As soon as we realized it was serious I went to see what had happened and then told staff to lock down the school and get the children inside. I spoke to police to ask what we should do.
“There seemed to be a body in the middle of the road. The traffic was backed up and the police were on the scene.”
[youtube keZFXWm3XC8]
[youtube -ggX9nyUfZI]
This website has updated its privacy policy in compliance with EU GDPR 2016/679. Please read this to review the updates about which personal data we collect on our site. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our updated policy. AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
