Armed police fired a stun gun at a man they said was acting suspiciously near the Carriage Gates entrance to parliament. Three months ago five people were killed in a terror attack nearby.
The Carriage Gates entrance to the Houses of ParliamentImage: Getty Images/AFP/D. Leal-Olivas
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The Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) or SO15 Specialist Operations branch within London's Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) are to investigate the incident on Friday morning, police said, adding: "We remain open minded as to whether terrorism was a motive."
"At 11:10hrs on Friday, 16 June, officers on routine duties near to the Carriage Gates entrance to the Palace of Westminster became aware of a man acting suspiciously," the police said in a statement on Friday afternoon. "The officers approached the man in order to speak with him. The man reached for a knife, and police discharged a Taser."
"The man - aged in his 30s - was arrested for possession of a knife. Nobody was injured," according to the police statement.
The suspect was taken to a police van by four, armed officers and is being held in a central London police station.
Westminster Bridge where an attack in March which left five dead and 49 injured beganImage: Imago/ZUMA Press
"At this time it is too early to understand the motivation so we have not declared this a terrorist incident," police said. "However given the location, the circumstances and recent tragic events, the MPS Counter Terrorism Command will be investigating this incident."
Less than three months ago, a lone attacker killed five people, including a police officer in a combined car and knife attack initially along Westminster Bridge and then at the same entrance to parliament, the Carriage Gates.
Flowers left for the victims of the London Bridge and Borough Market terror attack in JuneImage: Picture alliance/empics/D. Lipinski
Further east along the river earlier this month, three armed attackers killed eight people and injured dozens more as they drove a van into crowds on London Bridge before jumping out and randomly stabbing people. Within eight minutes of the first emergency call, the attackers were shot dead by police.
Attacks on UK Houses of Parliament in London
The London Police are treating the back-to-back series of violent attacks as a "terrorist incident." The attack outside parliament killed four people, including the attacker.
Image: Reuters/E. Keogh
Shots ring out
Shortly before 15:00 UTC, multiple shots followed by screaming were reported outside London's Houses of Parliaments. Authorities rushed to the scene as the House of Commons went into lockdown. The first reports came in from political reporters barred from leaving the premises.
Image: Reuters/E. Keogh
Injuries on Westminster Bridge
A male attacker first ran down pedestrians with an SUV on Westminster Bridge, an area highly frequented by tourists. The vehicle then rammed into a gate near Big Ben.
Image: Reuters/T.Melville
Police cordon off the area
The knife-wielding assailant then fatally stabbed a police officer on Parliament's grounds. The attacker was subsequently shot and killed while authorities secured the area around the Palace of Westminster.
Image: Reuters/S. Wermuth
An attack in the heart of downtown London
Transport for London, greater London's public transport authority, diverted buses in the area of the attacks. People working in the area sought alternative routes home as traffic remained blocked at the end of the work day on Wednesday.
Image: Google Maps
International leaders react
International leaders offered their condolences following the attack. German Chancellor Angela Merkel reaffirmed Germany's support for the UK "in the struggle against all forms of terrorism." The Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also expressed her sympathies as the Scottish Parliament canceled a debate on a second independence referendum.
Image: Reuters/K. Pfaffenbach
Emergency response blankets the area
Individuals present in the affected area described sirens blaring and the drone of helicopters overhead. British media reported "catastrophic injuries" while police confirmed four individuals had been killed. Another 29 people were being treated in hospital for their injuries - seven of them were critically wounded.
Image: Reuters/S.Wermuth
Police raid homes in Birmingham and London
A few hours after the attack, police made eight arrests after conducting armed raids on six homes in London and the central city of Birmingham (pictured above). The raids were part of an investigation into the Westminster attacker.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Vernalls
Attacker 'acted alone'
Metropolitan Police counterterrorism chief Mark Rowley told reporters that he believed the assailant "acted alone" and that he was "inspired by international terrorism." Prime Minister Theresa May later said the attacker was British-born and was known to authorities.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Tallis
'IS' claims attack
The militant "Islamic State" (IS) group claimed responsibility for the attack later on Thursday, saying the attacker was one of its "soldiers," according to the IS Aamaq news agency. It was not immediately clear whether the attacker was directly connected to the group.
Image: Reuters/S. Wermuth
Normality is 'greatest response to terror'
Prime Minister May hailed the millions of people in London who went about their lives the day after the attack. "It is in these actions - millions of acts of normality - that we find the best response to terrorism," she said. The city will hold a candlelight vigil for the victims on Thursday evening.
