At least six people are dead and more than 30 wounded, including one seriously injured police officer, in a complex ram-and-stab terrorist attack that took place at around 10:08 pm Saturday night on London Bridge.
A white van was said to be traveling at about 50 mph when it veered off the road and on to the sidewalk on the bridge late Saturday night and struck pedestrians, less than a month after the Manchester Arena was bombed.
A taxi driver named Chris told LBC that he saw three men get out of the van after it had rammed the pedestrians on London Bridge, Sky News reported. Each of the men was carrying a 12-inch-long blade. All three went “randomly along Borough High Street stabbing people at random,” he said, adding that he witnessed a young girl being stabbed in the chest. One witness said he heard a stabber invoke “Allah” as he stabbed a girl.
Two police boats are patrolling on the River Thames overnight, working to evacuate people as well as searching for possible victims who may have been knocked off or thrown off the bridge by the terrorists.
Armed police officers from Scotland Yard rushed to respond, with police cars wailing their way to the scene. A bomb squad was summoned. British Transport Police confirmed “multiple casualties.” The public was told to “run, hide and tell.”
: Run, Hide, Tell.
Thoughts and prayers with the victims of the suspected terror attacks in pic.twitter.com/4sDQlcpbVv
— Shomrim N.E. London (@Shomrim) June 3, 2017
Armed police responded to a second incident at nearby Borough Market, and Metropolitan police said that a third incident was under investigation in the Vauxhall area, which later turned out to be unrelated.
RT marksmile100: Chaos in London.
Horrifying!
Reports of a Second incident at Borough Market. pic.twitter.com/9fxaUxJHDT— No Consent! (@ConsentNo) June 3, 2017
Other armed police officers made their way quickly to bars and restaurants in the area, including Borough Market, telling people to “get down.”
It was believed that police shot and neutralized two of the suspected terrorists in the London Bridge area. A third suspect was believed to still be on the run. But whether or not those details are accurate is anybody’s guess.
The bridge was closed off in both directions, as was the London Bridge train station as well. Authorities have closed down a number of other train stations in the capital, including Waterloo East, London Charing Cross and London Cannon Street. Several buses have also been diverted.
Two and a half hours after the initial attack, British police officially declared the incidents on London Bridge and at Borough Market were terror incidents. Vauxhall was unrelated.