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U.K. Police Arrest 7 After Attack Outside Parliament U.K. Police Arrest 7 After Attack Outside Parliament
(about 1 hour later)
LONDON — A day after one of the worst terrorist attacks in Britain in more than a decade, the police said on Thursday that they had detained seven people across the country and that the assailant appeared to have acted alone, inspired by international terrorism. LONDON — The police in Britain raided addresses across the country on Thursday, detaining at least seven people, as the authorities pressed ahead with the fast-moving investigation into the terrorist attack outside Parliament, while holding to their view that the attacker had acted alone, inspired by international terrorism.
Mark Rowley, the assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said that officers had searched six addresses in London, in Birmingham and elsewhere in the country. As Londoners returned to work on Thursday morning, and Parliament prepared to resume normal business, police officers were pursuing leads in the case. Mark Rowley, the assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said that officers had searched six addresses in London, Birmingham and elsewhere in Britain.
In the attack on Wednesday, a knife-wielding assailant drove his vehicle over pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and stabbed a police constable, Keith Palmer, 48, in a deadly assault. At least four people, including the assailant, were killed, and about 40 others were wounded. The police also said that they had lowered the death toll in the attack on Wednesday from five to four, including the assailant, who drove his vehicle over pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and then fatally stabbed a police constable, Keith Palmer, 48. About 40 others were wounded.
As questions continued to swirl over the assailant’s identity and whether he was part of a wider network, Mr. Rowley declined to release more information. Questions continued to swirl over the assailant’s identity and whether he was part of a wider network, but Mr. Rowley declined to name him, say whether he was a British citizen or release any other information about him.
“We still believe that the attacker acted alone and was inspired by international terrorism,” he told reporters. “I will continue to ask that the name of the attacker not be published at this sensitive time of investigation.” Mr. Rowley said that a large crime scene remained near Parliament and that the police would be sifting through CCTV footage as well as video evidence taken by witnesses.
He did not say if the assailant was a British citizen. He said that the investigation was focused on the assailant’s motive, on identifying his associates, and on the extent to which the attack was premeditated.
Mr. Rowley said that a large crime scene remained near Parliament, where the attack took place, and that the police would be sifting through CCTV footage as well as video evidence taken by witnesses. Unsurprisingly for a multicultural city like London, people from several nationalities were among the victims, Mr. Rowley said. He appealed for calm, saying, “We must not allow terrorists to sow discord and fear in our city.”
He said that the investigation was focused on the assailant’s motive, the extent to which it was premeditated and who his associates were. Members of Parliament were set to return to work, but the area around Parliament Square remained cordoned off to the public on Thursday morning.
Unsurprisingly for a multicultural city like London, there were several nationalities among the victims, Mr. Rowley said. He appealed for calm, saying, “We must not allow terrorists to sow discord and fear in our city.” A fire truck with flashing lights could still be seen parked along the square just outside the Palace of Westminster, while parts of two of London’s main roads — Whitehall and Millbank — were off limits.
Runners and cyclists took detours, while employees of Parliament and government ministries, including the Ministry of Defense, were being allowed through the cordon only after identification checks by the police.
Among those headed to work was 39-year-old Michael Torrance, a House of Lords official.
Clutching a box of tea bags in his hand — his office had quickly run out as politicians and their staff members hunkered down after being put on lockdown the day before — Mr. Torrance said that the full magnitude of the attack on the Parliament area on Wednesday had not yet sunk in.
“Everyone was in various states of shock,” he said. “Looking at it in context, up and until the late ’70s, it was a frequent target of I.R.A. attacks.”
“Without sounding too fatalistic,” he added, “there was an air of inevitability about some kind of incident like this happening eventually. Parliament is obviously an iconic British institution, everyone was concerned, knew it was a target. Everyone’s alive to that.”
Mr. Torrance noted that “everyone wanted to be as normal as possible,” and that sentiment seemed to be shared across the city early Thursday morning, as Londoners went to work as usual. Many clutched newspapers, with lurid headlines and photographs detailing the bloody attacks from the day before.
Prime Minister Theresa May, who told Britons in a speech on Wednesday that life would go on and that the country must not cave into terrorism, was expected in an address to Parliament to pay tribute to the victims of the attack and to the shows of heroism by law enforcement officers.
At least three police officers were among those wounded on the bridge. Also among the wounded were three 10th-grade boys from a group of students visiting from the Brittany region of France, and a woman who fell or plunged into the River Thames.
Law enforcement officials said the police were now focused on analyzing the background and the motive of the attacker. Roy Ramm, who spent nearly three decades in the Metropolitan Police and was commander of specialist operations, said that once officers had identified the attacker, they would be moving backward, using CCTV footage to track his movements throughout the day.
Mr. Ramm said that another team would simultaneously be researching his background and the background of his associates, and looking to see if he had ever been subject to surveillance or on watch lists.
Part of the investigation, law enforcement officials said, would be focused on the vehicle used by the assailant, a Hyundai Tucson, which has already offered up some clues: It was registered in Chelmsford, Essex, to the east of London, and may have been rented in Birmingham, one of the places where the police conducted raids overnight.
Mr. Ramm said that the vehicle would be given a major forensic examination, including checks for fingerprints and DNA to identify anyone else who might have been in the vehicle. “This is a lot of work and a big test,” he said.