Terror Attacks Hit London

Infographic by Tiffany Cobb

A terrorist attack occurred on Wednesday, March 22 leaving five people dead, including the assailant and a police officer, and forty injured individuals.

On the Westminster Bridge outside of Parliament, forty individuals were injured as a car rampaged into a crowd of people. The car then continued into the fence outside of parliament where the assailant pursued on foot. He continued his attack by stabbing unarmed officer, Keith Palmer. Palmer died due to the attack, as did the assailant when he was shot by another member of the police force.

British Prime Minister Theresa May was at the parliament building during the attack. She remained unharmed as May was rushed to a vehicle during the attack and left the scene before any harm could come to her.

According to the New York Times, this attack is being claimed as “the most serious such assault in London since the deadly subway bombings more than a decade ago.”

In 2007, police found a car outside of a busy nightclub that had been turned into a deadly car bomb. BBC reported that the car had been filled with “60 liters of petrol, gas cylinders and nails.” However, the smoke coming from the car tipped off the police and they were able to control the explosion leaving no injuries.

In 2013, two men killed a British soldier, Lee Rigby. This was the first attack with a fatal casualty since the subway bombings in 2005. The two killers were caught and after a unanimous vote by a jury were sentenced to prison.

In June 2016, a man rampaged through Leytonstone subway station with a knife. The man injured 3 individuals but there were no deaths associated with the attack. However, one of the victims sustained serious injuries that convicted the assailant with attempted murder.

While it is not the first terrorist attack in London since the subway bombings in 2005, the attack does hold the most casualties in the past twelve years and will go down as one of the most violent attacks in London’s history.

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