Attackers drove a van at high speed into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing people in the nearby Borough Market area of bars and restaurants on Saturday in what British authorities described as terrorist incidents.
The attacks set off scenes of panic in the heart of London on a cool June evening as the city’s streets were filled with people heading home from dinner or out for a drink. In packed pubs, normally scenes of Saturday night revelry and merriment, patrons threw chairs at the attackers as the assailants, three men got out from the vehicle with 12 inches long blades and went randomly along Borough High Street stabbing and slashing people on their way through crowds.
Police said at least one person had been killed. Witnesses described a trail of serious injuries on the bridge and in the adjacent Borough Market.
The attacks come days ahead of a June 8 election and less than two weeks after a suicide bomber killed 22 people at a pop concert by U.S. singer Ariana Grande in Manchester in northern England. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
London’s Metropolitan Police later confirmed an attack at Borough Market, an area packed with popular restaurants that is located just south of the bridge. Police said that armed officers were responding to the scene, that there were reports of injuries from knife attacks and that shots had been fired, though it was unclear by who.
Dozens of police cars sped to London Bridge, with helicopters hovering overhead. Police closed the bridge and urged the public to avoid the area.
The incident caused chaos in the heart of London in an area normally bustling on a Saturday night. Pedestrians near the bridge said they were ordered by police to run. Video footage showed people fleeing in a panic. Two hours after the incidents began, police were still widening cordons and pushing bystanders further back from the scenes.
London Ambulance Service states it has taken at least 20 patients to six hospitals across London.
“We have taken at least 20 patients to six hospitals across London following the incident at London Bridge,” the London Ambulance Service’s assistant director of operations, Peter Rhodes, said in a statement on Sunday.
“We have also treated a number of people at the scene for less serious injuries,” he added.
Witnesses reported that a white van was travelling fast, approximately 50 miles per hour, when it mounted the sidewalk and ploughed into a group of people crossing the Thames River on foot around 10:30p.m.
The Manchester bombing on May 22 was the deadliest attack in Britain since July 2005, when four British Muslim suicide bombers killed 52 people in coordinated attacks on London’s transport network.
Islamic State earlier on Saturday sent out a call on instant messaging service Telegram urging its followers to launch attacks with trucks, knives and guns against “Crusaders” during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Similar attacks, in Berlin, Nice, Brussels and Paris, have been carried out by militants over the past couple of years.
“Following updates from police and security officials, I can confirm that the terrible incident in London is being treated as a potential act of terrorism,” Prime Minister Theresa May said.
May had lowered the nation’s threat level only days ago, from “critical” to “severe”,after having raised it following a bombing last month at a Manchester pop music concert that killed 22.
But even with the lower threat level, the nation’s intelligence services had continued to judge that another attack was likely.
US President Donald Trump offered assistance to Britain via Twitter. “Whatever the United States can do to help out in London and the UK, we will be there, we are with you. God bless!”.
Australia’s foreign minister Julie Bishop said: “We stand ready to support the British government as it responds to these attacks and our thoughts are with those injured and their families.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan issued a statement thanking emergency responders, and condemning “a deliberate and cowardly attack on innocent Londoners and visitors to our city enjoying their Saturday night.’
