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| U.K. Police Arrest 8 After Attack Outside Parliament | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| LONDON — The police in Britain raided properties across the country on Thursday, detaining at least eight people, pressing ahead with the fast-moving investigation into the terrorist attack outside Parliament, while holding to their view that the assailant had acted alone, inspired by international terrorism. | |
| As Londoners returned to work Thursday morning and Parliament resumed normal business with a debate on trade policy, 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. | |
| The police also said that they had lowered the death toll in the attack on Wednesday to four from five, 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. | |
| “We’re dealing with an enemy, a terrorist enemy, that is not making demands or taking people hostage, but simply wants to kill as many people as possible,” the British defense secretary, Michael Fallon, told the BBC. “This is a new element to international terrorism.” | “We’re dealing with an enemy, a terrorist enemy, that is not making demands or taking people hostage, but simply wants to kill as many people as possible,” the British defense secretary, Michael Fallon, told the BBC. “This is a new element to international terrorism.” |
| Mr. Fallon added that the police had “forestalled a large number of these attacks in recent years, over a dozen last year.” | Mr. Fallon added that the police had “forestalled a large number of these attacks in recent years, over a dozen last year.” |
| Questions about the assailant continued to swirl. The authorities have declined to identify him, reveal his nationality or say if he was part of a wider network. | |
| Mr. Rowley, the assistant commissioner, 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. The investigation, he said, was focused on the assailant’s motive, on identifying his associates, and on the extent to which the attack was premeditated. | Mr. Rowley, the assistant commissioner, 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. The investigation, he said, was focused on the assailant’s motive, on identifying his associates, and on the extent to which the attack was premeditated. |
| Unsurprisingly for a multicultural city like London — where a moment of silence was held at 9:33 a.m. on Thursday, to be followed by a vigil in the evening — 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.” | Unsurprisingly for a multicultural city like London — where a moment of silence was held at 9:33 a.m. on Thursday, to be followed by a vigil in the evening — 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.” |
| Members of Parliament returned to work, and in the chamber, the secretary of state for international trade, Liam Fox, began taking questions on trade issues by stating that it would be “not violence, hatred or division, but decency, goodness and tolerance that prevails in our country.” | |
| Speaking outside the chamber, Ed Miliband, a former leader of the Labour Party, said that the mood had been one of “shock and determination and also admiration for the job that the security people are doing.” The reaction, he added, showed that “humanity is stronger than the cowardice and depravity of the person who did this.” | |
| Signs of the chaos from the day before were still in evidence. In the area where the fatal stabbing took place, just inside the gates of Parliament, a small blue tent had been erected over the site of the crime scene as the police continued forensic and other investigations. | |
| The area around Parliament Square remained cordoned off, and a fire truck with flashing lights could still be seen parked 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. | 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. |
| The security cordon extended up to Trafalgar Square, covering the entirety of Whitehall, the heart of Britain’s government, including the prime minister’s office, the Finance Ministry and the Foreign Office. | |
| Armed police stood guard at the entrance to the road, and officers only allowed those with identification through. Large thoroughfares typically packed with traffic during the morning rush hour were largely deserted, with roads like the Mall, which connects Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace, used only by bicycles. | |
| 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. | 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.” | “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.” | “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. | 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 told Britons in a speech on Wednesday that life would go on and that the country must not cave into terrorism, and Londoners seemed to be taking the attacks in stride. | Prime Minister Theresa May told Britons in a speech on Wednesday that life would go on and that the country must not cave into terrorism, and Londoners seemed to be taking the attacks in stride. |
| “As I was coming in through the Tube, I noticed there was a great air of calm,” said Elizabeth Sweeney, 57, who works at the European Parliament and was in London at the time of the attack. “That was the overriding sense that I had, first thing.” | “As I was coming in through the Tube, I noticed there was a great air of calm,” said Elizabeth Sweeney, 57, who works at the European Parliament and was in London at the time of the attack. “That was the overriding sense that I had, first thing.” |
| After years of observing and commiserating after bloody recent attacks in Brussels and in Paris, many Londoners said there had been a sense of inevitability that the British capital would be next. They said that expectation, combined with British mettle conditioned over centuries of war, terrorism and other challenges, had helped people stay calm. | |
| “We do have a tendency to just get on with it,” said Meredith O’Shaughnessy, 38, an event planner. “It takes a lot to shake a Londoner. The Blitz spirit lives on,” she added, referring to the German raids over Britain during the Second World War during which Britons — and Londoners — showed determination and resolve. | |
| Mrs. May was expected in an address to Parliament on Thursday to pay tribute to the victims of the attack and to the shows of heroism by law enforcement officers. | Mrs. May was expected in an address to Parliament on Thursday 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. A spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Thursday that because three of the victims were French, it had opened an investigation into attempted murder in relation to a terrorist enterprise. | 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. A spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Thursday that because three of the victims were French, it had opened an investigation into attempted murder in relation to a terrorist enterprise. |
| Law enforcement officials said that 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. | Law enforcement officials said that 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 the assailant’s background and the background of his associates, and looking to see if he had ever been subject to surveillance or on watch lists. | Mr. Ramm said that another team would simultaneously be researching the assailant’s background and the background of his associates, and looking to see if he had ever been subject to surveillance or on watch lists. |
| Although the death toll was far lower, the attack brought to mind Islamic State attacks using vehicles in Berlin and in Nice, France. Part of the investigation in London, law enforcement officials said, would be focused on the car 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. | Although the death toll was far lower, the attack brought to mind Islamic State attacks using vehicles in Berlin and in Nice, France. Part of the investigation in London, law enforcement officials said, would be focused on the car 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. | 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. |
| Questions were already being raised as to how a knife-wielding attacker had been able to get so close to the houses of Parliament, the center of British democracy. Several members of Parliament asked how the assailant had been able to enter the area below the iconic Big Ben and called for the security gaps to be plugged. | Questions were already being raised as to how a knife-wielding attacker had been able to get so close to the houses of Parliament, the center of British democracy. Several members of Parliament asked how the assailant had been able to enter the area below the iconic Big Ben and called for the security gaps to be plugged. |
| Britain has one of the most sophisticated counterterrorism operations in Europe, but efforts to track extremists in the country have become harder in recent years, experts say. | |
| The Home Office made support for the Islamic State a criminal offense in June 2014, when Mrs. May was home secretary, and experts on radicalism said that drove many Islamist radicals underground. | |
| “It used to be that radicals in London would meet in church halls or at takeaways in East London, or set up stalls in parks,” said Mobeen Azhar, a filmmaker who has made several documentaries on Islamic radicalism in Britain. “Now these networks meet in white vans and spaces not known to police and have gone more underground, making them more difficult to track.” |