Hemera/Thinkstock(LONDON) — London’s Metropolitan Police said an attack near the Houses of Parliament Wednesday in which an assailant apparently plowed a car into pedestrians and an officer was stabbed has been declared a terrorist incident.
There are a number of casualties including police officers, police said, adding that they cannot confirm numbers or the nature of the injuries.
David Lidington, leader of the House of Commons, told members of Parliament a “police officer has been stabbed” and an “alleged assailant was shot by armed police.”
Lidington added that there were reports of further violence in the area.
An eyewitness told BBC that someone driving a car on Westminster Bridge appeared to hit bystanders.
Witness Richard Price told ABC News that he saw injured people on the pavement. According to Price, the car appeared to jump the curb, knocking people over.
Paramedics were seen on Westminster Bridge Road treating people lying on the ground.
The London Ambulance Service said it sent a “number of resources” to the scene including ambulance crews, London’s Air Ambulance and the Hazardous Area Response Team.
“We have declared a major incident and our priority is to assess patients and ensure that they are treated and taken to hospital as soon as possible,” the London Ambulance Service said in a statement.
Police said the incident on the Westminster Bridge was reported at about 2:40 p.m. local time.
The Metropolitan Police’s current acting commissioner Craig Mackie was a witness, but was not injured, police said.
Police said additional officers are being deployed across London Wednesday and the public is asked to remain vigilant. Anyone with images or videos is asked to turn them over to police.
Parliament was placed on lockdown Wednesday.
As police swarmed the area, Tom Peck, a British journalist, told ABC News that he heard a loud bang, lots of screaming and then several gunshots from his office in London.
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