London - Assailants drove a van into
pedestrians at high speed on London Bridge on Saturday night
before stabbing revellers on nearby streets, killing at least
six people in what British authorities said they were treating
as a terrorist attack.
Armed police rushed to the scene and within eight minutes of
receiving the first emergency call had shot dead the three male
attackers in the Borough Market area near the bridge.
The attacks came just five days ahead of a parliamentary
election on Thursday. The ruling Conservative Party, opposition
Labour Party and the Scottish National Party all suspended
national campaigning on Sunday.
"I can confirm that the terrible incident in London is being
treated as a potential act of terrorism," Prime Minister Theresa
May said in a statement as events unfolded.
Flags were flying at half-mast over her Downing Street
residence on Sunday morning.
The area around London Bridge and Borough Market remained
cordoned off, while mainline and underground train stations were
closed with no trains stopping.
Forensic investigators could be seen working on London
Bridge, where buses and taxis stood abandoned.
We are all shocked and horrified by the brutal attacks in London. My statement: pic.twitter.com/xR7Vz1YOtV
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) June 4, 2017
It was the third attack to hit Britain in quick succession.
Less than two weeks ago, a suicide bomber killed 22 people
at a pop concert by U.S. singer Ariana Grande in Manchester in
northern England, and in March a man killed five people after
driving into a crowd of pedestrians on Westminster Bridge in
central London.
Grande and other acts were due to give a benefit concert at
Manchester's Old Trafford cricket ground on Sunday evening to
raise funds for victims of the concert bombing and their
families. The event was being prepared amid tight security.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the
latest attack in London.
"Sadly, six people have died in addition to the three
attackers shot by police," Mark Rowley, Britain's top
anti-terrorism officer, said. The three attackers had been
wearing what looked like explosive vests that were later found
to have been hoaxes.
London Bridge is a major transport hub and nearby Borough
Market is a fashionable warren of narrow alleyways packed with
bars and restaurants. The area is always bustling on a Saturday
night.
The BBC showed a photograph of two possible attackers shot
by police, one of whom had canisters strapped to his body. Hours
after the attack the area remained sealed off and patrolled by
armed police and counter-terrorism officers.
The London Ambulance Service said 48 people had been taken
to five hospitals across the city and a number of others had
been treated at the scene for minor injuries.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said some of those who had been
injured were in a critical condition.
Khan said the official threat level in Britain remained at
severe, meaning an attack is highly likely. It had been raised
to critical after the Manchester attack, then lowered again days
later.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan "appalled & furious" that "cowardly terrorists would deliberately target innocent Londoners" https://t.co/FqXOE9XXYc pic.twitter.com/FT8sHTgxlX
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) June 4, 2017
The mayor also said he did not think Thursday's election
should be postponed because of events in London.
"One of the things that we can do is show that we aren't
going to be cowed, is by voting on Thursday and making sure that
we understand the importance of our democracy, our civil
liberties and our human rights," Khan said.
Roy Smith, a police officer who was at the scene during the
unfolding emergency, expressed his shock on Twitter.
"Started shift taking photos with children playing on the
South Bank. Ended it giving CPR to innocent victims attacked at
London Bridge," he wrote, adding a broken heart emoji.
Witnesses described a white van careering into pedestrians
on the bridge.
"It looked like he was aiming for groups of people," Mark
Roberts, 53, a management consultant, told Reuters. He saw at
least six people on the ground after the van veered on and off
the pavement. "It was horrendous," he said.
A taxi driver told the BBC that three men got out of the van
with long knives and "went randomly along Borough High Street
stabbing people."
Witnesses described people running into a bar to seek
shelter.
"People started running and screaming, and the van crashes
into the railing behind. We went towards Borough Market and
everyone went inside (the bar)," one witness, who gave his name
as Brian, 32, told Reuters.
Another witness, who declined to be named, his white top
covered in blood, described a scene of panic in the bar.
"They hit the emergency alarm. There was a line of people
going down to the emergency exit. And then people started
screaming coming back up," the 31-year-old said.
Picture: Hannah McKay/Reuters
"Around the corner there was a guy with a stab wound on his
neck ... There was a doctor in the pub and she helped him. They
put pressure on the stab wound."
BBC radio said witnesses saw people throwing tables and
chairs at the attackers to protect themselves.
The BBC showed dozens of people being escorted to safety
through a police cordon with their hands on their heads.
Islamic State, losing territory in Syria and Iraq to an
advance backed by a U.S-led coalition, sent out a call on
instant messaging service Telegram early on Saturday urging its
followers to launch attacks with trucks, knives and guns against
"Crusaders" during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Similar attacks, in Berlin, Nice, Brussels and Paris, have
been carried out by Islamist militants over the past two years.
May was due to chair a meeting of the government's Cobra
security committee later on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump took to Twitter to offer US help to Britain. The White House said he had been briefed on the
incidents by his national security team.
Whatever the United States can do to help out in London and the U. K., we will be there - WE ARE WITH YOU. GOD BLESS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2017
German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a statement
expressing her sympathy.
"Today, we are united across all borders in horror and
sadness, but equally in determination. I stress for Germany: in
the fight against all forms of terrorism, we stand firmly and
decisively at the side of Great Britain," she said.
French president Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter that
"France is standing more than ever side by side with the UK".
Two French nationals were among those injured in the London
attack, Macron's office said in a statement. Australia said two
of its citizens were caught up in the attack and that one was in
hospital.
The Manchester bombing on May 22 was the deadliest attack in
Britain since July 2005, when four British Muslim suicide
bombers killed 52 people in coordinated attacks on London's
transport network.