Two British police officers were injured Friday night after overpowering a 26-year-old wannabe terrorist after he drove a blue Toyota Prius straight at a police van near Buckingham Palace in London.
None of the royal family were in the palace at the time.
The attacker stopped the car just before the van, started yelling “Allahu Akbar!” and reached for a 4-foot sword on the passenger side, according to police.
Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism Commander Dean Haydon told reporters, “We believe the man was acting alone and we are not looking for other suspects at this stage… It is only right that we investigate this as a terrorist incident.”
“CS gas was used as part of the arrest, and during the struggle the individual repeatedly shouted the words Allahu Akbar.”
(“Allahu Akbar” means ‘God is Great’ in Arabic; it’s the jihadi war cry as well.)
“During the course of detaining him, two male police officers suffered minor injuries to their arm. The London Ambulance Service was called and they were treated at the scene. They have not been taken to the hospital. No other persons have been reported injured,” he said.
The officers were later praised by Detective Superintendent Guy Collings who called them “quick and brave,” adding that they detained the would-be attacker very quickly.
Their bravery is being underscored, because neither police officer was armed. They were both police constables, who are typically unarmed on the beat.
“No members of the public had any interaction with this individual on the scene,” he noted, saying that detectives would question the suspect and that it was too early to speculate further.
Also on Friday, a terrorist attacked two soldiers in the Belgian capital, Brussels. The attacker in that incident was shot and later died of his wounds.
