London – A car smashed into a barrier outside the Houses of Parliament in London early Tuesday morning injuring two pedestrians.
Police say they are treating it as a terrorist incident.
“At this stage, we are treating this as a terrorist incident and the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command is now leading the investigation,” Met Police said in a statement.
Witnesses said the driver aimed his vehicle at cyclists before smashing into a concrete barrier.
A black male was dragged out of a car and taken into custody by police.
London ambulance service issued a statement on Twitter saying two people were treated at the scene and later taken to hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
“At 07:37 a.m. today, Tuesday 14, August, a car was in collision with barriers outside the Houses of Parliament,” police said in a statement.
“The male driver of the car was arrested by officers at the scene,” police said.
“A number of pedestrians have been injured. We await an update on their condition, however officers do not believe that anyone is in a life-threatening condition,” police said prior to the ambulance service report of two injuries that required treatment.
“Officers remain at the scene and cordons are in place to assist the investigation,” cops said.
Westminster Tube station was closed during the morning commute and cars were being rerouted around a number of road blocks set up by police.
“While we are keeping an open mind, the Met’s Counter-Terrorism Command is leading the investigation into the Westminster incident,” police added.
A few minutes later police said they were now treating the incident as an act of terrorism.
“Our statement in response to the incident in Westminster. We have treated two people at the scene for injuries that are not believed to be serious and have taken them to hospital,” said the ambulance service.
A Sky News broadcast showed a man being led away.
