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UK Parliament terror attack: What we know so far

Prime Minister Theresa May, who was in Parliament at the time, condemned the attack as "sick and depraved".

UK Parliament terror attack: What we know so far

London: World leaders unanimously condemned the attack in the heart of London by a man who was shot dead by armed police, with many saying they stand with Britain.

At least three people were killed and more than 40 wounded in the attack outside Parliament Wednesday when a man mowed down pedestrians with a car then leapt out and stabbed a police officer.

Here is what we know about UK Parliament attack:

  • At around 2:40 pm (1440 GMT) on Wednesday, the attacker rammed a car along the pavement on Westminster Bridge, a busy traffic route that is also a popular tourist spot with its views of Parliament and its Big Ben clock tower.
  • After ploughing down several people on the bridge, the attacker crashed the car into the railings outside Parliament and then tried to enter the building, stabbing a policeman with a large knife. Armed officers shot the attacker dead.
  • In total, the assailant killed three people during the rampage: two members of the public and the stabbed police officer. Authorities revised down the toll after earlier saying the attacker had killed four people. The dead police officer was identified as Keith Palmer, 48, with 15 years of service.
  • Some 40 people were wounded, including five South Korean tourists, two Romanians, a Portuguese man and three French schoolchildren.
  • Britain`s top counter-terror officer Mark Rowley told journalists on Wednesday that police suspect "Islamist-related terrorism".
  • Seven people were arrested in armed raids early Thursday, including in London and second city Birmingham.
  • Parliament was swiftly put on lockdown during the attack and lawmakers and staff confined to the building for several hours.
  • Police cordoned off a large area around Parliament in Westminster, shutting the bridge and nearest Underground station, as emergency vehicles swarmed the area.
  • Prime Minister Theresa May, who was in Parliament at the time of the attack, was rushed out of the building by car. After chairing a meeting of the government`s COBRA emergencies committee, she described the attack as "sick and depraved" and confirmed that Britain would maintain its terror threat level at "severe".
  • A police spokesman said extra officers would be put on patrol in London and urged the public to be vigilant.
  • Defiant lawmakers said Parliament would meet as usual on Thursday. The attacker has not yet been named but Rowley said investigators believe they know his identity.
  • Press Association news agency photos, believed to be of the attacker lying on an ambulance stretcher, showed a burly, bearded man wearing black clothes.
  • The attack took place on the first anniversary of attacks by Islamist militants that killed 32 people in Brussels.
  • It was the deadliest attack in London since four British Islamists killed 52 commuters and themselves in suicide bombings on the city`s transport system in July 2005, in London`s worst peacetime attack.
  • Britain`s allies reacted with shock and vowed to stand with London in the fight against terror.