There has been a terror attack on the UK Houses of Parliament in Westminster earlier on Wednesday afternoon.
Details are still emerging from the incident but here are 7 key facts you should know about the attack, for now:
- Four people have been confirmed dead including a police officer protecting the Parliament building who was stabbed and another man who is believed to be the attacker and was shot by armed police.
2. Metropolitan Police were alerted to the scene at about 2.40pm while proceedings were on in the House of Commons. The session was immediately suspended and Deputy speaker David Lidington announced to the Members of Parliament that a police officer had been stabbed.
3. The suspect has been described as a middle-aged Asian man, he was dressed in black and drove a black Hyundai car and was armed with a seven-to-eight inch knife. He was treated on a stretcher by medics within the Parliament ground. He is believed to have acted alone.
4. The suspect first drove through Westminster Bridge running into pedestrians before crashing the car into the rails of the Parliament. One woman was thrown over the bridge into the river Thames but was later rescued alive while another fell on to a hard surface below the bridge.
5. 20 other people were injured in the attacks, including three police officers. A witness reportedly saw about 10 people lying prostrate on the Westminster Bridge clearly injured. A source at Reuters says three French students were among the injured. A junior doctor, Colleen Anderson from St Thomas’ Hospital said the injury on those who were mowed by the car on the bridge ranged from “minor to catastrophic”.
6. Prime Minister, Theresa May was in the Commons lobby, only 40 yards away, when the incident occurred, according to the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt.
7.Head of counter-terrorism at the Met, Mark Rowley said to the press, “This is a day we’ve planned for but we hoped will never happen. Sadly, it is now a reality.” He said residents in the capital will see extra police officers across the city.
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