Three people died and at least 20 were injured when an attacker rammed a car into crowds of people before stabbing a police officer in the grounds of the UK Parliament in London.
The assault, which came on the one-year anniversary of the ISIS bomb attacks in Brussels, brought carnage to Westminster, the heart of political life in Britain.
A police officer was among the three killed, police said, announcing a “full counter-terrorism investigation.” The assailant was shot dead by police.
Prime Minister Theresa May described the attack as “sick and depraved,” saying that attempts to defeat the values Parliament represents through violence would be “doomed to failure.”
“The location of this attack was no accident. The terrorist chose to strike at the heart of our capital city, where people of all nationalities, religions and cultures come together to celebrate the values of liberty, democracy and freedom of speech,” she said.
Parliament was placed on lockdown and lawmakers were forced to remain in the main debating chamber of the House of Commons as firearms officers rushed to the scene outside.
Pictures showed scenes of carnage in the aftermath of the attack, which happened as Parliament was in session. One member of the British government gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to one of those injured.
“This is a day that we had planned for — that we all hoped would never happen — but sadly it is now a reality,” said Mark Rowley, Britain’s most senior counter-terror police officer.
