London – The death toll has risen to five, with about 40 injured, after an attacker drove a car into pedestrians on London’s Westminster Bridge before running through an adjacent gate to the British parliament and stabbing a police officer.
The dead included the stabbed police officer, Keith Palmer, 48, and the attacker, who was shot by other officers, Metropolitan Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Rowley said.
“Three members of the public also lost their lives in this attack,” said Rowley, who is Britain’s top counter-terrorism officer.
Investigating officers believe they know the identity of the attacker and are working on the assumption that he was “inspired by international terrorism,” he said.
Rowley said extra police would be deployed across Britain over the next few days.
“Terrorists have a clear aim and that is to create discord, distrust and to create fear,” he said.
“The police stand with all communities in the UK and will take action against anyone who seeks to undermine society, especially where their crimes are motivated by hate.”
He warned that people in Muslim communities could “feel anxious at this time, given the past behaviour of the extreme right wing.”
“It’s essential for us to remain vigilant but to also work together – policing and communities – and unite against those who seek, through violence and extremism, to threaten, intimidate and cause fear,” Rowley said.
Prime Minister Theresa May said the government would not raise its terrorism threat level following the attack.
The threat level will remain at “severe” – the second-highest level – meaning an attack is highly likely, which Britain has kept for more than two years.
“We will all move forward together, never giving in to terror and never allowing the voices of hate and evil to drive us apart,” May said after chairing a meeting of the government’s emergency committee.
May was among several hundred lawmakers who were kept inside the parliament building when it was placed on lockdown immediately after the attack.
Most of them were only allowed to leave the building some five hours later.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd urged the public to remain “calm but vigilant” following the attack.
US President Donald Trump spoke to May by phone to offer his condolences and his “praise for the effective response of security forces and first responders.”
The White House said Trump “pledged the full cooperation and support of the United States Government in responding to the attack and bringing those responsible to justice.”
One woman was reportedly rescued from the Thames, the river that runs under the bridge.
The French government had organized a plane to take the families of three injured French students to London, President Francois Hollande’s office said.
Sky News sports reporter Alan Parry said he saw an attacker run away after the car collision, followed by the sound of gunfire.
“The driver sprinted away from the scene,” Parry said. “That was followed by four what sounded very much like gunshots.”
Another witness told Sky News that she saw a middle-aged “Asian guy” armed with a long knife, running towards the gate to parliament and then getting shot.
-dpa
