London Parliament Attack Live Updates: Gunshots, Injuries Reported In Westminster

UPDATE: 7:50 p.m. EDT — Police upped the death toll in the attack at Westminster Abbey to five and identified the police officer killed as Keith Palmer, 48. Forty people were injured after a car driven by the suspect drove into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge

The BBC said Palmer, a 15-year veteran, was part of the Met’s parliamentary and diplomatic protection command.

At least three of the injured were police officers.

UPDATE: 3:07 p.m. EDT — Four people, including the suspect, died Wednesday after an attack in Westminster near the British Parliament building, police announced in a statement.

Mark Rowley, the national lead for Counter Terrorism Policing and the acting deputy commissioner, said that a car drove over the Westminster Bridge, running down several people, before crashing near the House of Parliament. A man got out with a knife and tried to go inside, stabbing a police officer in the process, before he was fatally shot by authorities.

"At least 20 people have been injured," Rowley said. "We have an ongoing operation — and whilst we currently believe there was only one attacker — I am sure the public will understand us taking every precaution in locking down and searching the area as thoroughly as possible."

UPDATE: 1:45 p.m. EDT — The total number of victims remained unclear Wednesday afternoon following a stabbing, shooting and car crash outside Parliament in London. BBC News reported that a police officer had died in the incident but did not say whether the officer was one of the two deaths confirmed by Sky News.

It was also not revealed whether the officer was the one stabbed by the suspect before he was shot.

"[The assailant] ran in through the open gates ... He set about one of the policemen with what looked like a stick," journalist Quentin Letts told a radio station, according to Reuters. "The policeman fell over on the ground and it was quite horrible to watch and then having done that, he disengaged and ran toward the House of Commons entrance used by [members of parliament] and got about 20 yards or so when two plain-clothed guys with guns shot him."

UPDATE: 1:16 p.m. EDT — Donald Trump Jr. slammed the mayor of London for making comments that seemed to downplay the severity of an apparent terror attack at and around the Parliament building in the U.K.'s capital city Wednesday. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim to lead the city, said terror attacks are now a way of life and "part and parcel of living in a big city," according to the Independent.

The U.S. president's son seemed to take umbrage with Khan's apparent nonchalant response.

Khan also released a brief statement following the attack expressing his condolences to the victims and thanks to law enforcement and first responders.

UPDATE: 12:23 p.m. EDT — A doctor with St. Thomas' Hospital in London told the Press Association Wednesday that one woman had died and others had "catastrophic" injuries after a shooting at the Parliament building and car ran a group of people over on the Westminster Bridge.

Politico reporter Tom McTague tweeted that he believed a suspect crashed the vehicle into the gates on the bridge before running through them, stabbing a police officer and being shot.

UPDATE: 12:08 p.m. EDT — With reports still claiming dozens of people were wounded Wednesday in London, high-profile politicians were reassuring their social media followers they were O.K.

Nicola Sturgeon, the leader of the Scottish National Party, tweeted that her thoughts were "with everyone in and around Westminster caught up in this dreadful incident," while Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn wrote that "reports suggest the ongoing incident in Westminster this afternoon is extremely serious."

UPDATE: 11:47 a.m. EDT — The Metropolitan Police called Wednesday for people with video footage or photos of the attack near Parliament in London to submit their film for an investigation into an incident that involved both a shooting and a car crash.

Though no deaths were confirmed, authorities also shut down much of the city.

"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," they wrote in a news release. "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."

UPDATE: 11:35 a.m. EDT — As the world waited for details on what happened near the Parliament building in London, where a man was shot by police Wednesday, several people on social media linked the incident to a 2016 terror attack. Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the bombings in Brussels, Belgium, where members of the Islamic State group killed more than 30 people and wounded more than 300 when they bombed an airport and train station.

The Metropolitan Police tweeted that it was "treating this as a terrorist incident until we know otherwise."

UPDATE: 11:23 a.m. EDT — The leader of the House of Commons told members of Parliament Wednesday in London that he had limited information on a reported shooting but there was a "serious incident," the Guardian reported.

"It seems that a police officer has been stabbed; that the alleged assailant was shot by armed police," David Lidington said. "An air ambulance is attending the scene to remove the casualties. There are also reports of further violent incidents in the vicinity."

UPDATE: 11:12 a.m. EDT — Police in London confirmed the unfolding incident involving a knife and gunshots outside the House of Parliament was "not a drill," a BBC News editor tweeted Wednesday amid reports of injuries. But the U.K. M15 intelligence agency told the Associated Press it was "too early to say" whether the apparent attack could be linked to terrorism.

UPDATE: 11:07 a.m. EDT — An assailant who reportedly approached the House of Parliament in London with a knife Wednesday was shot by police, the Associated Press reported. Speakers in the building were blaring an announcement that the session had been suspended "until we're sure it's safe," with the doors locked, according to a BBC News reporter.

UPDATE: 11 a.m. EDT — British Prime Minister Theresa May was evacuated from the House of Parliament in London Wednesday after reports of a "firearms incident" and gunshots continued to unfold, according to U.K. reporters.

There were no confirmed deaths or injuries.

Original story:

Multiple people were injured Wednesday in the United Kingdom after a reported shooting at the Parliament building and a possible car incident nearby, Reuters reported. The Palace of Westminster went on lockdown, according to BBC News.

The Metropolitan Police tweeted just before 11 a.m. EDT that they'd been called to "reports of an incident" at Westminster Bridge. They were treating it as "a firearms incident."