London attack: Woman dies in Westminster 'terror' incident

[GMDino]

Edit: Forgot to post the link apparently!

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-39355940

Quote:A woman has died on Westminster Bridge in central London in what police are treating as a terrorist incident.

A police officer was also stabbed in the nearby Houses of Parliament by an attacker, who was shot by police.
Several pedestrians were struck by a car on the bridge, before it crashed into railings.
Police said there were "a number of casualties... including police officers" and a "full counter-terrorism inquiry" was under way.
Writing on Twitter, BBC home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani said it is understood from multiple sources that two people were in the vehicle on the bridge.
Prime Minister Theresa May is to chair a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee later.
Met Police Commander BJ Harrington said he was unable to confirm details of casualties.
Speaking outside Scotland Yard he urged the public to stay away from the area around Westminster to allow emergency services access.

• Live coverage
  

• Eyewitness accounts
• How the news broke
• Video: Aftermath on the bridge
• 'Terror incident': In pictures
  

London Ambulance said it had treated at least 10 people on Westminster Bridge.
The Port of London Authority said a woman has been pulled alive from the River Thames near the bridge and was being treated for serious injuries.
Junior doctor Colleen Anderson from St Thomas' Hospital confirmed the death of the woman and said a number of other people were hurt - some with "catastrophic" injuries.
She said she also treated a police officer in his 30s with a head injury, who had been taken to King's College Hospital.
She said the woman had died at the scene.
"There were people across the bridge. There were some with minor injuries, some catastrophic," she added.
"Some had injuries they could walk away from or who have life-changing injuries. There were maybe a dozen [injured]."

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Analysis
Image copyrightPA
By Dominic Casciani, home affairs correspondent
The incident outside Westminster, while at this stage unclear, is the kind of scenario security chiefs have been planning for.
Just last week there was a major counter-terrorism exercise on the River Thames as part of plans to prepare for the worst.
What's not clear is whether this incident was anything that could have been foreseen.
But the fact that the Metropolitan Police's counter-terrorism armed response swung into action so quickly indicates how much work has been done since the killing of Lee Rigby in 2013.
Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command, MI5 and, where relevant, other major agencies, will throw absolutely everything at trying to establish the background of the suspect - whether they were working alone or whether there could be more of the same on the way.
And while they are treating this as a terrorist incident, they will know full well they will have to test the evidence to ensure this theory is correct.

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MPs said they had heard three or four gunshots and staff inside Parliament were told to stay inside their offices.
Commons Leader David Lidington told MPs the "alleged assailant was shot by armed police".
Shortly after the incident, a Downing Street source confirmed that Mrs May was safe.
The prime minister was seen being ushered into a silver Jaguar car as what sounded like gunfire rang out at Parliament during the incident.
Parliament was put into lockdown shortly after the attack at 14:40 GMT.
Tom Peck, political editor for the Independent, tweeted: "There was a loud bang. Screams. Commotion. Then the sound of gunshots. Armed police everywhere."



Media captionSteve Voake, eyewitness: "I tried to stop people coming on to the bridge"
Press Association political editor Andrew Woodcock witnessed the scenes unfolding from his office window overlooking New Palace Yard.
"I heard shouts and screams from outside and looked out, and there was a group of maybe 40 or 50 people running round the corner from Bridge Street into Parliament Square.
"They appeared to be running away from something.

"As the group arrived at the Carriage Gates, where policemen are posted at the security entrance, a man suddenly ran out of the crowd and into the yard.
"He seemed to be holding up a long kitchen knife.
"I heard what sounded like shots - I think about three of them - and then the next thing I knew there were two people lying on the ground and others running to help them.
"Armed police were quickly on the scene and I heard them shouting to people to get out of the yard."
'Mowed down'
An eye witness, Radoslaw Sikorski, a senior fellow at Harvard's Centre for European Studies, posted a video to Twitter showing people lying injured in the road on Westminster Bridge.
Image copyrightALISON BASKERVILLEImage captionParliament went into lockdown after the attackImage copyrightAPImage copyrightAP
He wrote: "A car on Westminster Bridge has just mowed down at least 5 people."
Scotland Yard said it was called to a firearms incident on the bridge amid reports of several people injured.
Transport for London said Westminster underground station has been shut at the police's request, and buses diverted.



Media captionAerial views of Houses of Parliament
Mr Lidington said: "It seems that a police officer has been stabbed, that the alleged assailant was shot by armed police.
"An air ambulance is currently attending the scene to remove the casualties.
"There are also reports of further violent incidents in the vicinity of the Palace of Westminster but I hope colleagues on all sides will appreciate that it'd be wrong of me to go into further details until we have confirmation from the police and from the House security authorities about what is going on."

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

1. Why 'terror'? Couldn't bring yourself to just type it normally?

2. Count is now at 5 dead (including attacker and stabbed police officer) and 40 wounded last I saw.

[GMDino]

(03-22-2017, 09:49 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: 1. Why 'terror'? Couldn't bring yourself to just type it normally?

2. Count is now at 5 dead (including attacker and stabbed police officer) and 40 wounded last I saw.

1) Ask the website I got the link from.  Copied it right from there.

2) I know.  It's horrible.

[*michaelsean*]

This lone wolf stuff seems to be the way they are going to go now. All it takes is a car and a knife.

[GMDino]

(03-23-2017, 09:38 AM)michaelsean Wrote: This lone wolf stuff seems to be the way they are going to go now.  All it takes is a car and a knife.

That's how you create true "terror".

I've often said small, random attacks make people more wary than the big, attention getting ones.

[GMDino]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/03/23/london-terror-attack/99524382/

Quote:London attack: May says attacker was British-born, known to intelligence



(Photo: ANDY RAIN, EPA)

LONDON — The suspect in the terror attack near Parliament who killed a police officer and two civilians and injured dozens more was British-born and known to security officers, Prime Minister Theresa May said Thursday.


The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through its Aamaq news agency and called the assailant a "soldier of the Islamic State." The claim couldn't immediately be verified.


May said authorities know the identity of the attacker, who was shot dead by police. She said the man had been investigated by MI5, the domestic security agency, "some years ago" regarding concerns about violent extremism. "He was a peripheral figure. The case is historic — he was not part of the current intelligence picture," she said, adding that there was "no prior intelligence of his intent or of the plot."


She said the suspect is assumed to have been inspired by Islamist ideology.

[Belsnickel]

(03-23-2017, 09:38 AM)michaelsean Wrote: This lone wolf stuff seems to be the way they are going to go now. All it takes is a car and a knife.

Lone wolf attacks from people they have influenced already there. They don't need to send people to countries because in this information age they just need data.

[BmorePat87]

Awful. If I was in Europe, I would never be near a road. They're using trucks and cars to take people out.

I read that one victim was an American on a trip for his anniversary with his wife. Heartbreaking that all memories of her marriage will be tainted by this attempted celebration of it.