7 Arrested Over In Connection To The Terrorist Attack In London

Posted By: Fahima Paghmani

fpaghmani@klkntv.com

Abc News: Three people were killed, including a police officer, and at least 29 people hospitalized in an attack in London that authorities have declared a terrorist incident. A man believed to be the attacker was also killed, shot by police at the scene.

Seven people were later arrested at six locations in overnight raids in Birmingham, according to Metropolitan Police acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Rowley during a Thursday morning press conference.

A woman assists an injured person after an incident on Westminster Bridge in London, March 22, 2017.

Injured people are assisted after an incident on Westminster Bridge in London, March 22, 2017.

Wednesday’s attack began when a driver struck pedestrians and three police officers on Westminster Bridge, London’s Metropolitan Police said.

Witness Richard Tice told ABC News that he saw injured people on the pavement. According to him, the car jumped the curb, knocking over pedestrians.

Emergency services workers respond to the scene of an incident near Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament in London on March 22, 2017.

The car then crashed into the fence around the Houses of Parliament, and a man armed with a knife attacked an officer who was guarding Parliament, police said.

A body is covered by a sheet outside the Houses of Parliament, London, March 22, 2017.

Emergency services attend to injured people after an incident outside the Palace of Westminster in London, March 22, 2017.

The suspect, who authorities believe acted alone, was shot and killed by police. In an initial press conference on Wednesday evening, Rowley said the suspect tried to enter Parliament but was stopped "very close to the gate."

The officer who died, identified as 48-year-old Keith Palmer, was not armed, he added. Palmer, a husband and father, served for 15 years with the Metropolitan Police, Rowley said.

The attack — which occurred on the one-year anniversary of attacks in Brussels that killed 32 people — was reminiscent of vehicle attacks last year in both Berlin and Nice, France.

Police believe that the attack was "inspired by international terrorism" and that they know the attacker’s identity, but Rowley has refused to provide further details. Authorities are also looking at the suspect’s possible associates.

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

Thames and was among those who received medical treatment, an official with the Port of London Authority told ABC News.

According to The Associated Press, several French teenagers on a school trip, two Romanian tourists, a Chinese citizen and five South Korean visitors were among those injured.