News

Westminster in Lockdown – Shots fired and police officer stabbed

0 147

Humanity Hallows Issue 5 Out Now
Pick up your copy on campus or read online


By Sam Gosling


The Palace of Westminster is currently in lockdown as gunshots have been fired in the grounds. Parliament has been suspended this afternoon as a major incident is currently happening in the streets outside the Palace where MPs were in session. Gunshots have been heard outside the Parliament building and one man is currently in custody.

Witness Kevin Schofield told Sky News, “A man with a knife rushed a security gate and attacked a police officer and was taken down by armed police…I heard a bang and saw the man rush the gate and hold what looked like a knife out towards a police officer and I saw the officer fall.” Two people are currently being treated by paramedics at the scene. One is thought to be the police officer attacked and the other the attacker.

Confirmed reports say that armed police shot the attacker. Another connected incident is reported to have happened on Westminster bridge involving a car; several people are thought to have been hurt and witnesses say that there was an almighty crash and bodies are lying on the road. Multiple people were struck by a vehicle on the bridge and are seriously injured. Reuters are reporting that two people were shot and at least a dozen people have been injured by the car. The Prime Minister is currently in Parliament but is said to be safe and being kept up to date with what is happening outside.

We spoke to Stalybridge and Hyde MP Jonathan Reynolds who commented:

‘It was immediately clear this was a very serious incident. Everyone who works in Westminster has prepared for this day but we hoped it would never come. The response from the emergency services was heroic’

Members of the house are undoubtedly worried as it is less than a year since the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox who was gunned down in her constituency of Batley and Spen in June last year. The MP was holding a surgery at her constituency office when Thomas Mair gunned her down. He is currently serving a life sentence for the murder.

This afternoon’s incident is currently being treated as a terror attack.

About the author / 

Humanity Hallows

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More News Stories:

  • Manchester Metropolitan University student wins top music photography award

    Featured image: Alison Hall Future Media Production student Gracie Hall takes home top music photography award A Manchester Metropolitan University student has claimed a top national photography award, winning the Photographer of the Year title in the music category at the London Camera Exchange 2025. Gracie Hall, a BA Future Media Production student, impressed judges with her…

  • World Book Day: Manchester’s best literary hangout spots

    Featured image: Edward Firman There is no better combination than a good book and a hot cup of coffee; it’s the ultimate feeling of cosiness no matter the season. However, there’s something comforting about rainy days in Manchester, when the skies are gloomy and you stumble upon an independent bookstore. Over the years, bookstores have…

  • GoGlobal Week: Jason Allen-Paisant and Monique Roffey on plants, place and choosing tenderness

    Featured image and gallery: Eden-Hopkins Fermo Manchester Met’s GoGlobal Week initiative continued on Wednesday with an event featuring award-winning poet Jason Allen-Paisant and acclaimed writer and Contemporary Fiction Professor Monique Roffey. Launching his first non-fiction book, The Possibility of Tenderness, Allen-Paisant and Roffey explored the themes of his memoir, dissecting his personal history and the…