Three terrorists ran their van into a crowd on London Bridge, then jumped out with 12-inch knives and started stabbing people, shouting “This is for Allah!” They killed seven and injured nearly 50 before the terrorists were killed by police.
This is the third terrorist attack on Great Britain in three months. Prime Minister Theresa May blamed the “evil ideology of Islamist extremism” and said, there is “far too much tolerance for extremism in our country.” She also commented, “things need to change.” Some observers hope this tough talk from the government may herald a turning point in combatting terrorism.
From London attack toll rises to 7 dead as Theresa May insists ‘things need to change’ – The Washington Post:
The death toll rose to seven Sunday, following the latest terrorist attack to strike Britain, with Prime Minister Theresa May blaming the “evil ideology of Islamist extremism” and vowing to conduct a review of the nation’s counterterrorism laws.
London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick confirmed that seven people were killed in Saturday night’s incident that saw a van mow down pedestrians on London Bridge before the vehicle’s occupants got out and started stabbing patrons of nearby bars and restaurants. That toll does not include the three attackers, who were fatally shot by officers within eight minutes of the first emergency call, Dick said.
London Ambulance Service earlier said it had taken “at least 48 patients to five hospitals across London.”
As doctors and nurses tended to the wounded, police carried out raids in the east London neighborhood of Barking in a signal that authorities are probing at least the possibility that others may have been involved in the attack’s planning. A dozen people were arrested, police said.
The low-tech but high-profile attack will raise questions about how British security services failed to stop yet another mass-casualty strike after years of thwarting such attempts. May, who is running for another term in this week’s general election, said the nation needs to step up its fight against radical ideologies in response, asserting that there is “far too much tolerance for extremism in our country.”
“Things need to change,” May said Sunday, speaking outside of the prime minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street
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