UK Parliament Car Crash: Suspect Arrested, Investigations Ongoing

A car slammed into the barriers that had been extended following the Westminster Bridge attack.

Armed police swooped into the area and cordoned off streets surrounding the heart of Britain’s government. 

(Photo: AP)

British counter-terrorism police carried out three searches in central England as part of an investigation after a car slammed into barriers outside the Houses of Parliament in London, injuring three people, on Tuesday, 14 August.

A 29-year-old UK national, was arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. He is currently being questioned at a south London police station, The Associated Press (AP) reports.

According to the police, the silver Fiesta, which was privately owned, had traveled from Birmingham to London late on Monday night. It was then driven around the Westminster and Whitehall area from approximately 6 am until the crash on Tuesday.

The Metropolitan Police force says cordons are being lifted apart from a stretch of road around the scene of Tuesday morning's crash.

As of now, the London police have called Tuesday’s incident a “deliberate act”.

Prime Minister Theresa May offered her praise for the emergency services for their "immediate and courageous response," following the incident.

Condemning the attack, US President Donald Trump said:

The area was the site of a terror attack in March 2017 when Khalid Masood ploughed a car into crowds on Westminster Bridge, killing four people.

Masood had abandoned his car then stabbed and killed a police officer before being shot in a courtyard outside Parliament.

In Tuesday's incident, the car slammed into barriers that had been extended following the Westminster Bridge attack. Video from Sky News showed a man being detained, AP reported, adding that eyewitnesses quoted in British media said they thought the crash looked deliberate.

(With input from AP, Reuters, PTI)