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Jo Cox, Member of British Parliament, Is Killed in Attack Jo Cox, Member of British Parliament, Is Killed in Attack
(about 1 hour later)
LONDON — A member of Parliament was killed in an attack at a library in her district in northern England, according to the British authorities. LONDON — A member of Parliament was killed in an attack at a library in her district in northern England on Thursday afternoon, a rare act of political violence that stunned the country.
The police were called to Birstall, a village about six miles southwest of the city of Leeds, at 12:53 p.m., and found Jo Cox, who represents the West Yorkshire district of Batley and Spen in Parliament, with severe injuries. The lawmaker, Jo Cox, 41, who represented the West Yorkshire district of Batley and Spen and was considered a rising star in the Labour Party, was assaulted at the end of a scheduled meeting with constituents in Birstall, a town about six miles southwest of the city of Leeds.
Ms. Cox, 41, was taken by an air ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary. She was pronounced dead at 1:48 p.m., Dee Collins, temporary chief constable of the West Yorkshire Police, said at a news conference. The police were summoned at 12:53 p.m., and found Ms. Cox with severe injuries. She was taken by an air ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary. She was pronounced dead at 1:48 p.m., Dee Collins, temporary chief constable of the West Yorkshire Police, said at a news conference.
A 52-year-old man was arrested in the attack. Constable Collins said that several weapons, including a gun, had been recovered from the scene and were being analyzed. Initial reports had described the attack as involving both a stabbing and a shooting. Although a motive has not been established, the killing occurred one week before a referendum on whether Britain should leave the European Union, and both sides immediately halted campaigning.
“This is a very significant investigation, with large numbers of witnesses that have been spoken to by the police at this time,” Constable Collins said. “A full investigation is underway to estlaibsh the motives for this attack.” “The death of Jo Cox is a tragedy, “ Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain wrote on Twitter, describing Ms. Cox, a member of the opposition, as “a committed and caring M.P.”
Constable Collins, who urged witnesses to come forward, added, “We are not in a position to discuss any motive at this time.” She said the police were not searching for any other suspects in connection with the attack. Mr. Cameron told the BBC that “we’ve lost a star,” and said, “It’s right that we’re suspending campaigning activity in this referendum.”
Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party, wrote on Twitter: “The whole of the Labour family, and indeed the whole country, is in shock and grief at the horrific murder of Jo Cox.”
Home Secretary Theresa May, who is in charge of domestic security, said the country was “united in deep sadness.”
In Birstall, where the last census recorded nearly 17,000 residents, the police cordoned off the area around Market Street, where the attack took place.
A 52-year-old man was arrested in the attack, and Constable Collins said the police were not searching for any other suspects.
She said that several weapons, including a gun, had been recovered from the scene and were being analyzed. Initial reports had described the attack as being both a stabbing and a shooting, but the police declined to release details.
The BBC quoted an witness, Hithem Ben Abdallah, 56, who was in a cafe next door to the library when the attack occurred, as saying he heard screaming and went outside.
“There was a guy who was being very brave and another guy with a white baseball cap who he was trying to control and the man in the baseball cap suddenly pulled a gun from his bag,” Mr. Ben Abdallah said.
Ms. Cox was shot while trying to intervene, he said.
“The man stepped back with the gun and fired it,” he said, “and then he fired a second shot. As he was firing he was looking down at the ground.” He added,“He was kicking her as she was lying on the floor.”
His account could not be independently verified.
“This is a very significant investigation, with large numbers of witnesses that have been spoken to by the police at this time,” Constable Collins said at the news conference, in the city of Wakefield. “A full investigation is underway to establish the motives for this attack.”
Constable Collins, who urged witnesses to come forward, said, “We are not in a position to discuss any motive at this time.”
Speaking at the same news conference, Mark Burns-Williamson, the police and crime commissioner for West Yorkshire, described the crime as “a localized incident, albeit one that has a much wider impact.”Speaking at the same news conference, Mark Burns-Williamson, the police and crime commissioner for West Yorkshire, described the crime as “a localized incident, albeit one that has a much wider impact.”
Armed police officers were posted outside the hospital. The police said that a second victim, a man in his late 40s to early 50s, was slightly injured, but declined to provide further details. The police said that a second victim, a man in his late 40s to early 50s, was slightly injured.
The cause of the attack was not clear, but the BBC quoted unnamed witnesses saying that Ms. Cox had been wounded when she interrupted an altercation during a scheduled meeting with constituents. In a phone interview, Sanjeev Kumar, an employee at the Kwik Save store on Low Lane, near the library where Ms. Cox was meeting constituents, said he had seen the victim lying on the ground after her attacker fled.
In a phone interview, Sanjeev Kumar, an employee at the Kwik Save store on Low Lane, near the library where Ms. Cox was meeting constituents, said he saw the victim lying on the ground after her attacker fled. “She was lying on the floor and two girls were helping her,” Mr. Kumar said. “She was bleeding from the mouth and nose — the ambulance was on its way. She couldn’t talk, or move, or do anything. It looked serious.”
“She was lying on the floor and two girls were helping her, she was bleeding from the mouth and nose — the ambulance was on its way,” Mr. Kumar said. “She couldn’t talk, or move, or do anything. It looked serious.” Mr. Kumar said the attack was a the sort of incident that “never, never happened here.”
Mr. Kumar added that the attack was a shock and the sort of incident that “never, never happened here.”
Ms. Cox was elected to Parliament in May 2015 to represent Batley and Spen, a generally safe Labour seat. The constituency has a large number of retirees and a substantial population of South Asian origin.Ms. Cox was elected to Parliament in May 2015 to represent Batley and Spen, a generally safe Labour seat. The constituency has a large number of retirees and a substantial population of South Asian origin.
Ms. Cox’s colleagues have described her as an eloquent and effective lawmaker. She was due to celebrate her 42nd birthday next Wednesday, and had been spoken of as a potential future minister.Ms. Cox’s colleagues have described her as an eloquent and effective lawmaker. She was due to celebrate her 42nd birthday next Wednesday, and had been spoken of as a potential future minister.
According to the biography on her personal website, Ms. Cox was born and raised around Dewsbury, England. She graduated from Cambridge in 1995, the first in her family to complete university.According to the biography on her personal website, Ms. Cox was born and raised around Dewsbury, England. She graduated from Cambridge in 1995, the first in her family to complete university.
Ms. Cox was involved in pro-European causes. She was an aide to Joan Walley, a British member of Parliament who supported European integration, and to Glenys Kinnock, a former Labour member of the European Parliament. She has also worked with Oxfam, the anti-hunger charity; Sarah Brown, wife of the former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown, to reduce child and infant mortality; and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to combat modern slavery. She was married with two children, and lived part of the time on a boat on the Thames. Ms. Cox was involved in pro-European causes. She was an aide to Joan Walley, a British member of Parliament who supported European integration, and to Glenys Kinnock, a former Labour member of the European Parliament.
She also worked with Oxfam, the anti-hunger charity; with Sarah Brown, wife of the former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown, to reduce child and infant mortality; and with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to combat modern slavery. She was married with two children, and lived part of the time on a boat on the Thames.
Ms. Cox abstained in a contentious vote last fall on British military action in Syria, insisting that a broader attempt at resolving the five-year-old civil war was needed.Ms. Cox abstained in a contentious vote last fall on British military action in Syria, insisting that a broader attempt at resolving the five-year-old civil war was needed.
“I met her before she became an M.P. and helped her when she got chosen as a candidate,” said Mr. Hamilton, the member of Parliament. “I’ve been friendly with her since. She’s an expert in international causes, gave lots of speeches in Parliament about international causes like Syria. We also both have a passion for cycling, so we have a lot in common.”“I met her before she became an M.P. and helped her when she got chosen as a candidate,” said Mr. Hamilton, the member of Parliament. “I’ve been friendly with her since. She’s an expert in international causes, gave lots of speeches in Parliament about international causes like Syria. We also both have a passion for cycling, so we have a lot in common.”
The campaigns representing the two sides in next week’s European Union referendum — Britain Stronger in Europe, which favors remaining in the European Union, and Vote Leave, which advocates departure from the 28-nation bloc — suspended their campaigning for the day, out of respect for Ms. Cox.The campaigns representing the two sides in next week’s European Union referendum — Britain Stronger in Europe, which favors remaining in the European Union, and Vote Leave, which advocates departure from the 28-nation bloc — suspended their campaigning for the day, out of respect for Ms. Cox.
Mr. Cameron called off plans for a trip to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory that borders Spain, where he had planned to rally residents to vote to remain in the bloc. Recent polls suggest the vote will be very close, and that the campaign to leave might be gaining an edge.Mr. Cameron called off plans for a trip to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory that borders Spain, where he had planned to rally residents to vote to remain in the bloc. Recent polls suggest the vote will be very close, and that the campaign to leave might be gaining an edge.
Last week, Ms. Cox wrote on Twitter: “Immigration is a legitimate concern, but it’s not a good reason to leave the E.U.” On Wednesday, Ms. Cox’s husband, Brendan Cox, took part in a joust between prominent campaigners from both sides, an event nicknamed the Battle of the Thames. On Thursday afternoon, after the stabbing, he posted a photo of his wife on Twitter, without comment.Last week, Ms. Cox wrote on Twitter: “Immigration is a legitimate concern, but it’s not a good reason to leave the E.U.” On Wednesday, Ms. Cox’s husband, Brendan Cox, took part in a joust between prominent campaigners from both sides, an event nicknamed the Battle of the Thames. On Thursday afternoon, after the stabbing, he posted a photo of his wife on Twitter, without comment.
Political violence and gun violence are relatively rare in Britain. In September 2010, Stephen Timms, a Labour member of Parliament for the East Ham district in London, was stabbed and critically injured by an Islamist extremist who was angered by his support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.Political violence and gun violence are relatively rare in Britain. In September 2010, Stephen Timms, a Labour member of Parliament for the East Ham district in London, was stabbed and critically injured by an Islamist extremist who was angered by his support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.