Police On Parliament Incident: Treating As Terrorism ‘Until We Know Otherwise’

Palace of Westminster incident. Police close to the Palace of Westminster, London, after policeman has been stabbed and his apparent attacker shot by officers in a major security incident at the Houses of Parliament.... Palace of Westminster incident. Police close to the Palace of Westminster, London, after policeman has been stabbed and his apparent attacker shot by officers in a major security incident at the Houses of Parliament. Picture date: Wednesday March 22, 2017. See PA story POLICE Westminster. Photo credit should read: Victoria Jones/PA Wire URN:30641546 MORE LESS

March 22, 2017 11:52 a.m.

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Scotland Yard said Wednesday that it was treating an incident nearby the Parliament building in London as a terrorist incident until they know otherwise.

The update came in a tweet from the Metropolitan Police:

Incident in #Westminster: We are treating this as a terrorist incident until we know otherwise

— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) March 22, 2017

The Associated Press and others reported Wednesday that an assailant was shot by police after stabbing an officer. Police were also called to an incident on the nearby Westminster Bridge.

Scotland Yard has released the following statement on their website:

Police are asking people to avoid the following areas: Parliament Square; Whitehall; Westminster Bridge; Lambeth Bridge; Victoria Street up to the junction with Broadway and the Victoria Embankment up to Embankment tube.

This is to allow the emergency services to deal with the ongoing incident.

Police were called at approximately 14:40 hours to reports of an incident in Westminster Bridge, SW1. It is being treated as a firearms incident.

Officers – including firearms officers – remain on the scene and we are treating this as a terrorist incident until we know otherwise.
We thank the public for their assistance.

Police are appealing for any members of the public who may have images or footage of the incident to send them to this address:
http://www.ukpoliceimageappeal.co.uk

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Matt Shuham (@mattshuham) is a reporter in TPM’s New York office. Prior to joining TPM, he was associate editor of The National Memo and an editorial intern at Rolling Stone.

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