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| London Attacks: ‘We Heard a Massive Bang’ | London Attacks: ‘We Heard a Massive Bang’ |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| LONDON — It was a warm, drizzly Saturday night, and the bars at Borough Market here were packed, as usual. Tucked below an offramp of London Bridge, near the banks of the Thames, the market is a warren of narrow streets populated with trendy bars and restaurants, where some people had just finished watching the Champions League soccer final. | |
| Then came the loud bang of a crashing van. Then came three men slashing at patrons with knives. Then screams, sirens, chaos — and, finally, gunfire as arriving police officers shot the three assailants dead. | Then came the loud bang of a crashing van. Then came three men slashing at patrons with knives. Then screams, sirens, chaos — and, finally, gunfire as arriving police officers shot the three assailants dead. |
| “A huge group of people started running towards us,” said Graham Forester, who was in a taxi arriving at Borough Market as the attack unfolded. “One woman screamed at my cabby, telling him to turn around. One guy fell over really badly, while he was running, and I saw a pool of blood on the pavement. | “A huge group of people started running towards us,” said Graham Forester, who was in a taxi arriving at Borough Market as the attack unfolded. “One woman screamed at my cabby, telling him to turn around. One guy fell over really badly, while he was running, and I saw a pool of blood on the pavement. |
| “A group of young girls, dolled up for the night, were running in their high heels, crying.” | “A group of young girls, dolled up for the night, were running in their high heels, crying.” |
| Parts of the area around the market remained cordoned off by the police on Sunday morning, as the authorities continued to investigate the three men who carried out Britain’s third major terrorist attack in less than three months. Seven people were killed, with dozens more injured, some in critical condition. Little was known about the assailants, but if their goal was to sow fear by striking a location filled with people, Borough Market and nearby London Bridge were ideal targets. | |
| Popular with tourists and teeming with night life, London Bridge is a transport hub, with an adjacent rail and underground station near tourist attractions such as The Shard, the city’s tallest building; Shakespeare’s Globe Theater; and the Tate Modern art gallery. The area was filled with people at 10:08 p.m. when a white van roared across the bridge, jumping the curb and plowing over pedestrians on the sidewalk. | Popular with tourists and teeming with night life, London Bridge is a transport hub, with an adjacent rail and underground station near tourist attractions such as The Shard, the city’s tallest building; Shakespeare’s Globe Theater; and the Tate Modern art gallery. The area was filled with people at 10:08 p.m. when a white van roared across the bridge, jumping the curb and plowing over pedestrians on the sidewalk. |
| “We were close to the bridge, about to drive over it, and then traffic suddenly stopped,” said a witness, Lorna Murray. “People got out of their cars and started running towards us.” | “We were close to the bridge, about to drive over it, and then traffic suddenly stopped,” said a witness, Lorna Murray. “People got out of their cars and started running towards us.” |
| “We saw the white van that apparently rammed into people,” she added. | “We saw the white van that apparently rammed into people,” she added. |
| As victims lay strewn on the bridge, the van crashed into a guardrail along an offramp above Borough Market. Three men jumped out carrying long knives and raced into the area of the market. Patrons who had spent an evening n pubs or restaurants suddenly realized they were under attack. | As victims lay strewn on the bridge, the van crashed into a guardrail along an offramp above Borough Market. Three men jumped out carrying long knives and raced into the area of the market. Patrons who had spent an evening n pubs or restaurants suddenly realized they were under attack. |
| “We heard a massive bang,” another witness, Andrew, told the LBC news channel late Saturday night. He had been standing under an umbrella outside a bar when the attackers rushed in. “I turned around on the right, and there was a guy with a big knife, I mean a big knife.” | “We heard a massive bang,” another witness, Andrew, told the LBC news channel late Saturday night. He had been standing under an umbrella outside a bar when the attackers rushed in. “I turned around on the right, and there was a guy with a big knife, I mean a big knife.” |
| Andrew said he jumped over a small fence, ran a distance and then hid behind a bush. “There was already a dead guy laying on the floor,” he said. He set out running again, shouting at people to flee. “I told every bar and restaurant on the way: ‘Get out of here! Everybody, out! Out! Out!’” | Andrew said he jumped over a small fence, ran a distance and then hid behind a bush. “There was already a dead guy laying on the floor,” he said. He set out running again, shouting at people to flee. “I told every bar and restaurant on the way: ‘Get out of here! Everybody, out! Out! Out!’” |
| The rampage lasted only eight minutes before police vehicles arrived at the scene. Almost immediately, officers began ordering people to leave the area, even as they confronted the three assailants. Each of the men was wearing what appeared to be an explosive vest — but those later turned out to be fake. A British Transport Police officer was injured as other officers shot and killed the assailants. | The rampage lasted only eight minutes before police vehicles arrived at the scene. Almost immediately, officers began ordering people to leave the area, even as they confronted the three assailants. Each of the men was wearing what appeared to be an explosive vest — but those later turned out to be fake. A British Transport Police officer was injured as other officers shot and killed the assailants. |
| No one knew if the attack was over, or if other assailants remained at large. | No one knew if the attack was over, or if other assailants remained at large. |
| Hotels in the area were evacuated. Alarms went off inside deserted lobbies, as members of the staff went door-to-door telling guests to get out. | Hotels in the area were evacuated. Alarms went off inside deserted lobbies, as members of the staff went door-to-door telling guests to get out. |
| Panicked people sprinted across bridges, many of them in their pajamas. Children were crying, and some hotel guests were huddled up, waiting in the cold. | Panicked people sprinted across bridges, many of them in their pajamas. Children were crying, and some hotel guests were huddled up, waiting in the cold. |
| “I was asleep and didn’t even know anything was going on until the alarm went off and we were told to evacuate the hotel immediately,” said Emily Sutton, a guest at the Novotel London Tower Bridge, across the river, who was sitting on a bench wrapped in a duvet. | “I was asleep and didn’t even know anything was going on until the alarm went off and we were told to evacuate the hotel immediately,” said Emily Sutton, a guest at the Novotel London Tower Bridge, across the river, who was sitting on a bench wrapped in a duvet. |
| “When we got out, there were police and sirens everywhere,” she said. “People running and screaming. It was utter horror.” | |
| Another guest, Danny Farre, walked down the street, carrying her 9-year-old daughter on her shoulders. “This is a complete nightmare; we are stuck here while there are maniacs on the loose and nobody is helping us,” she said. “They could be anywhere. This is out of control.” | Another guest, Danny Farre, walked down the street, carrying her 9-year-old daughter on her shoulders. “This is a complete nightmare; we are stuck here while there are maniacs on the loose and nobody is helping us,” she said. “They could be anywhere. This is out of control.” |
| But the police quickly took control of the situation, rushing into some bars and ordering patrons to lie on the ground as they searched for possible suspects. A report of another attack in Vauxhall quickly raised fears that some sort of broader, coordinated assault was underway, until the authorities later established that the event was unrelated. | But the police quickly took control of the situation, rushing into some bars and ordering patrons to lie on the ground as they searched for possible suspects. A report of another attack in Vauxhall quickly raised fears that some sort of broader, coordinated assault was underway, until the authorities later established that the event was unrelated. |
| In the dark early hours of Sunday, some parts of Central London remained on high alert. . Sirens wailed as ambulances rushed the injured to hospitals across the city. Helicopters hovered over the Borough Market area as crowds of people continued to evacuate the area. Elsewhere, the city operated as normal, and patrons continued to pour into bars and restaurants less than a mile away. | |
| Inside the police cordon around Borough Market, beer glasses sat on a table in the street. Abandoned shops and hotels were left wide open. Les Hunter, 33, was among the crowds that had managed to get away. From Liverpool, Mr. Hunter was visiting a friend in London and stepped out of a pub about 10:15 p.m. He saw people fleeing and heard gunshots. | Inside the police cordon around Borough Market, beer glasses sat on a table in the street. Abandoned shops and hotels were left wide open. Les Hunter, 33, was among the crowds that had managed to get away. From Liverpool, Mr. Hunter was visiting a friend in London and stepped out of a pub about 10:15 p.m. He saw people fleeing and heard gunshots. |
| “We went back into the pub and people starting running in telling us to get down and hide,” he said. “I ran up to the gents and hid, but when I looked out the window, I saw a guy with blood all over his face and T-shirt.” |