March 22, 2017


SPECIAL REPORT 12:12 PM ON APPARENT TERRORIST INCIDENT WITH AN OFFICER STABBED, A VEHICLE RUNNING INTO A CROWD OF PEOPLE, AND GUNS FIRED.


http://abcnews.go.com/International/firearms-incident-reported-uk-houses-parliament/story?id=46300284&cid=clicksource_4380645_1_hero_headlines_bsq_hed
Attack near UK Houses of Parliament being treated as terrorism: Police
By EMILY SHAPIRO Mar 22, 2017, 12:01 PM ET

WATCH LIVE -- UK's Parliament locked down after gun incident

London's Metropolitan Police said an apparent attack near the Houses of Parliament in which an assailant apparently plowed a car into pedestrians and an officer was stabbed is being treated as "a terrorist incident until we know otherwise."

David Lidington, leader of the House of Commons, told members of Parliament a “police officer has been stabbed” and an "alleged assailant was shot by armed police."

Lidington added that there were reports of further "violence incidents" in the area.

An eyewitness told BBC that someone driving a car on Westminster Bridge appeared to hit bystanders. Paramedics were seen on Westminster Bridge Road treating people lying on the ground.

PHOTO: Police on the scene after sounds similar to gunfire have been heard close to the Houses of Parliament, London, March 22, 2017.Victoria Jones/PA via AP

Police said the incident on the Westminster Bridge was reported at about 2:40 p.m. local time.

While the number of victims was not immediately clear, the London Ambulance Service said it sent a "number of resources" to the scene including ambulance crews, London’s Air Ambulance and the Hazardous Area Response Team.

“We have declared a major incident and our priority is to assess patients and ensure that they are treated and taken to hospital as soon as possible," the London Ambulance Service said in a statement.

PHOTO: MPs in House of Commons, London after a major security alert at the Palace of Westminster in London, March 22, 2017.PA via AP

PHOTO: Police secure the area on the south side of Westminster Bridge close to the Houses of Parliament in London, March 22, 2017.Matt Dunham/AP Photo

Parliament is on lockdown.

PHOTO: Armed police officers enter the Houses of Parliament in London, March 23, 2017 after the House of Commons sitting was suspended as witnesses reported sounds like gunfire outside.Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Photo

As police swarmed the area, Tom Peck, a British journalist, told ABC News that he heard a loud bang, lots of screaming and then several gunshots from his office in London.

PHOTO: An armed police officer stands on Parliament Square outside of the Houses of Parliament in London, March 23, 2017 after the House of Commons sitting was suspended as witnesses reported sounds like gunfire outside. Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Photo

PHOTO: Injured people are assisted after an incident on Westminster Bridge in London, March 22, 2017. Toby Melville/Reuters

PHOTO: A police officer tapes off Parliament Square after reports of loud bangs, in London, Britain, March 22, 2017.Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

This story is developing. Please check back for more updates.


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