At least four dead in possible ‘terrorist incident’ in London

LONDON — At least four people are dead, including a police officer and an assailant, after an attack outside Britain's Parliament that London's Metropolitan Police are treating as a 'terrorist incident.'

Early reports were confusing, but witnesses reported hearing a commotion, shouting and the sound of gunfire. The assailant appears to have plowed a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge as he drove up to the Houses of Parliament and crashed into security railings, witnesses said.

The suspect was reportedly clad in black and seen wielding an object in his hand when he attacked at least one police officer in an area where members of the public are not allowed.

Tobias Ellwood, the foreign office minister, tried to help save the injured officer by administering CPR and applying pressure to his wounds, according to images shared widely on social media. Ellwood lost his brother, Jon, in a 2002 bombing attack that killed more than 200 people in Bali.

Commander B.J. Harrington of the London Metropolitan Police told reporters that officers had responded to a number of reports, including of a person in the River Thames, a car in a collision with pedestrians and a man armed with a knife.

He confirmed there were a number of casualties, including police officers, but could not provide details.

'Although we remain open-minded to the motive, a full counterterrorism investigation is already underway,' he said.

A doctor at nearby St Thomas' Hospital told Britain's Press Association that one woman died and a number of other people were hurt, some with 'catastrophic injuries.'

Ambulance personnel treated at least 10 patients on the bridge and put a number of hospitals on alert, said Pauline Cranmer, deputy director of the London Ambulance Service. It was not immediately clear whether they included the woman who died.

A woman was pulled out of the river alive but injured, said Martin Garside, a spokesman for the Port of London Authority.

House of Commons Leader David Lidington described the situation to members of Parliament.

'There has been a serious incident within the estate,' the conservative politician said. 'It seems that a police officer has been stabbed, that the alleged assailant has been shot by police. There are also reports of further violent incidents within the vicinity of the palace of Westminster.'

Staff and lawmakers in the area were told to stay inside their offices and a session of the House of Commons was suspended.

'I am locked in my office with other MPs and frightened young researchers,' Michael Fabricant, a Conservative Party lawmaker, said on Twitter. 'We have broken open a bottle of whiskey.'

Witnesses who were on Westminster Bridge described a car striking as many as a dozen pedestrians. Photos showed a car that had driven into the bridge's railings.

The Metropolitan Police reported the apparent attack on Twitter, and said, 'We are treating this as a terrorist incident until we know otherwise.' There were no reports of anyone being shot on the bridge, however.

One witness, identified as former Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, told the BBC he was driving along Westminster Bridge in a taxi at the time.

'I didn't see the car, but I heard what I thought was just a collision,' he said. 'Then I looked through the window of the taxi and I saw someone down, obviously in great distress. Then I saw a second person down. Then I saw three more people down, one of them bleeding profusely.'

Police blocked off roads and bridges throughout the area, as emergency responders sped by with sirens blaring and lights flashing.

A helicopter hovered noisily overhead, and the iconic London Eye stood motionless in the distance.

In Washington, President Donald Trump was briefed Wednesday morning on the incident, according to a U.S. official familiar with the briefing. Trump was 24 minutes late for a meeting with women health care executives because of the briefing.

'Some big news having to do with London just happened,' he said in front of reporters.