LONDON (AP) — The Latest on reports of an incident outside Britain’s parliament (all times local):
10:30 p.m.
British police say five people died in the terror attack outside Parliament.
Counter-terrorism chief Mark Rowley said one policeman, three civilians and the attacker died.
He said a further 40 people were wounded.
The assailant has not been identified. Rowley said police think they know the identity of the man but would not reveal details. He said Islamic extremism is suspected in the attack.
He said extra armed police would be on the streets in the coming days to reassure the public, and hundreds of police officers are working on the case.
He identified the police officer who died as Keith Palmer, 48.
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10:20 p.m.
Buckingham Palace officials say Queen Elizabeth II will postpone plans to open the new Scotland Yard headquarters.
The palace said Wednesday night that the queen’s visit, which had been set for Thursday, will be postponed.
The change is due to security concerns raised by the terror attack on Parliament.
It is also expected that police will be involved with a major investigation that will occupy many officers.
The queen was to have been joined by her husband Prince Philip at the official opening of the new building.
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President Donald Trump has offered his condolences to British Prime Minister Theresa May following the deadly attack in London.
The White House says the president praised the response of security forces and first responders and pledged “the full cooperation and support” of the U.S. government “in responding to the attack and bringing those responsible to justice.”
The White House says the two spoke by phone after a vehicle mowed down pedestrians on London’s Westminster Bridge. Around the same time, a knife-wielding attacker stabbed a police officer and was shot on the grounds outside Britain’s Parliament. The compound is in lockdown.
The head of counterterrorism at London’s Metropolitan Police has said that four people have died in what has been labeled a terror incident, including an attacker and a police officer.
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6:20 p.m.
The White House is condemning the attacks in London involving a car rampage and knife attack. President Donald Trump is said to be monitoring developments.
Spokesman Sean Spicer said Wednesday Trump spoke with British Prime Minister Theresa May and said that the White House applauds “the quick response of British police and first responders” and condemns the attacks.
A vehicle mowed down pedestrians on a bridge and the attacker then stabbed a police officer outside the British Parliament. At least four people died, including the attacker and a police officer.
Spicer says that the city of London and the British government have the “full support” of the U.S. as they investigate the attack.
The U.S. Homeland Security Department says the security posture in the United States has not changed in the wake of the attack.
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6:15 p.m.
The Italian interior ministry says the nation’s top security and intelligence officials will huddle in Rome on Thursday for “an evaluation of the terrorist threat” after the attacks in London.
The ministry said minister Marco Minniti convened the Committee of Strategic Anti-terrorism Analyses following “the tragic facts in London,” in which a vehicle mowed down pedestrians on a bridge and the attacker then stabbed a police officer outside the British Parliament. At least four people died, including the attacker and a police officer.
Italian security was already on high alert for a European Union summit bringing EU nation leaders to Rome Friday for a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, and a ceremony in the Italian capital Saturday.
Authorities are bracing for possible violence during several marches Saturday, drawing thousands of both pro-and anti-EU participants.
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6:05 p.m.
The head of counterterrorism at London’s Metropolitan Police, says four people have died in the terror incident in London, including an attacker and a police officer.
Mark Rowley says some 20 people have been wounded and Parliament was locked down. A search is underway to make certain no other attackers are in the area — though police believe there was only one attacker.
Rowley said the dead policeman was one of the armed officers who guard Parliament. The other victims were on Westminster Bridge.
Rowley says “We are satisfied at this stage that it looks like there was only one attacker. But it would be foolish to be overconfident early on.”
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5:50 p.m.
French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have both expressed their support and solidarity with Britain after the attacks at the British Parliament in London.
“We are all concerned with terrorism,” Hollande told reporters Wednesday during a visit in Villepinte, outside Paris. “France, which has been struck so hard lately, knows what the British people are suffering today.”
Hollande added that countries “must bring all the conditions to answer these attacks” and that “it is clear that it is at the European level, and even beyond that, that we must organize ourselves.”
French Interior Minister Matthias Fekl said “it is a high place of democracy that has been attacked” and that France is “obviously ready to help.”
Merkel said in a statement Wednesday that she learned “with sorrow” of Wednesday’s incident and her thoughts were “with our British friends and all of the people of London,” in particular those who were injured.
While the circumstances of the attack were still unclear, “I want to say for Germany and its citizens: we stand firmly and resolutely by Great Britain’s side in the fight against all forms of terrorism,” she said.
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5:15 p.m.
British port officials say they pulled a woman from the Thames River following the incident on Westminster Bridge.
The Port of London Authority says a female member of the public was recovered from the river, injured but alive.
The authority says it has closed the river between Vauxhall Bridge and Embankment while a major security operation is under way after a suspected terror attack at the Houses of Parliament in London.
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5:10 p.m.
Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May will chair a meeting of the government emergency committee to discuss the response to the terror incident in London.
The emergency committee known as Cobra coordinates the high-level response to serious incidents. It brings together government ministers with senior officials of the emergency services and security and intelligence agencies.
Such meetings are held after serious incidents such at the July 7, 2005, attack on London transport services.
The Wednesday meeting is held in the briefing room of the Cabinet Office on Whitehall.
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5 p.m.
The London Ambulance Service says it has treated at least 10 injured people on Westminster Bridge after a vehicle hit pedestrians.
It says the first ambulance arrived within six minutes of the first call at 2:40 p.m. (1440GMT).
Ambulances, an air ambulance and a Hazardous Area Response Team were all sent to the scene.
One woman has been confirmed dead, and a body was seen lying in the yard of Parliament, where a knifeman stabbed a police officer and was shot by police.
People began leaving the Houses of Parliament about two hours after the incident.
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4:50 p.m.
A senior police commander says the attack at London’s Parliament has been declared a terrorist incident and “a full counterterrorism investigation is underway.”
Commander B.J. Harrington says “a number” of people have been injured, including police officers.
He says additional police officers, armed and unarmed, will be deployed across London during the evening rush hour as part of efforts to keep people safe.
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4:35 p.m.
The Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh suspended its debate on a second independence referendum after the incident outside the British Parliament in London.
Scottish lawmakers had been planning to vote after two days of debate on First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s call for another referendum on leaving the United Kingdom.
The debate was suspended after some members said it should be halted out of respect after a policeman was stabbed and his attacker shot in London.
Sturgeon tweeted that her thoughts were with everyone in Westminster “caught up in this dreadful incident.”
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4:30 p.m.
A doctor says a woman has died and about a dozen people are hurt, some with “catastrophic” injuries, after a vehicle apparently hit pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, near Parliament.
Colleen Anderson of St Thomas’ Hospital says a female pedestrian has died.
Anderson said: “There were people across the bridge. There were some with minor injuries, some catastrophic. Some had injuries they could walk away from or who have life-changing injuries.”
She said there might be a dozen injured in all.
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4:05 p.m.
The U.S. State Department says it is closely monitoring the incident outside London’s Parliament and urged Americans in London to avoid the area.
Spokesman Mark Toner said Wednesday: “We stand ready to assist in any way the U.K. authorities would find helpful.”
He added that the U.S. Embassy in London is closely following the news and stands ready to help any affected Americans.
He said: “Our hearts go out to those affected.”
He says there are reports of further violent incidents neaby, and police say they have been called to a firearms incident on nearby Westminster Bridge.
Witnesses said a vehicle struck several people on the bridge, and photos showed a car plowed into railings.
Britain’s MI5 says it is too early to say if the incident is terror-related.
3:50 p.m.
The White House says U.S. President Donald Trump has been briefed on a gun and knife incident at Britain’s Parliament in London.
Trump himself said during a brief appearance Wednesday before reporters at the White House that he was just getting the news. He called it “big news.”
Trump’s spokesman, Sean Spicer, says the U.S. will continue to monitor the situation and update the president.
Britain’s Parliament was on lockdown after — according to officials — an assailant stabbed an officer then was shot by police.
London Police also said officers were called to an incident on nearby Westminster Bridge
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3:40 p.m.
British lawmaker Grant Shapps said on Twitter that he was walking through the cloisters of the House of Commons to vote when he heard four gunshots. Police told lawmakers to get down on the ground and crawl to cover.
“Police response instant. Heard commotion, looked round. Police weapons drawn, 4 shots, police ordered us to hit ground & get back, get back,” he said.
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2:55 p.m.
A session of Britain’s House of Commons has been suspended as witnesses reported hearing sounds like gunfire nearby.
The Commons’ speaker suspended the session as police responded to an incident.
Journalists at the Parliament building said they were told to stay in their offices.
The Press Association news agency reported that two people were seen lying within the grounds of Parliament.
Police had no immediate confirmation.
OFFICE OF SEN. MORAN
