A man plowed a car into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament in London on Tuesday morning, injuring at least three people before being arrested on suspicion of terrorism, officials said.
The man was driving a Ford Fiesta on the wrong side of the road at up to 50 mph when it mounted the sidewalk and struck a group of pedestrians and cyclists before slamming into the barriers, the Telegraph reported.
The suspect, who is in his 20s, was captured about 7:30 a.m. local time and was being held on suspicion of terrorist offenses, according to Scotland Yard.
No one else was in the car and authorities said no weapons had been recovered from the scene.
Two people were taken to local hospitals and another was treated at the scene. One woman remained hospitalized Tuesday afternoon, but her injuries weren’t believed to be life-threatening, officials said.
“Given that this appears to be a deliberate act, the method and this being an iconic site, we are treating it as a terrorist incident and the investigation is being led by officers from the Counter Terrorism Command,” said Assistant Police Commissioner Neil Basu.
“Our priority is to formally identify the suspect and establish his motivations if we can. He is not currently cooperating,” he added.
The BBC, citing unnamed sources, said the suspect is from the Birmingham area in central England and, while not known to the MI5 domestic spy agency or Britain’s counter-terrorism network, was known to police.
“At this early stage of the investigation, no other suspects at the scene have been identified or reported to police,” Basu said, according to Reuters.
