Car smashes into Parliament barriers in London in possible terror attack

A number of people in London were injured after a car smashed into the barriers outside the British Houses of Parliament in London on Tuesday morning.

The driver was arrested at the scene by heavily armed police.

"The male driver of the car was detained by officers at the scene. A number of pedestrians have been injured. Officers remain at the scene. We will issue further info when we have it," London's police force said in a statement on Twitter.

The police say the Westminster incident is being treated as “a terror incident”.

The area surrounding the Parliament — from Trafalgar Square all the way down to Lambeth Bridge — remained cordoned off Tuesday morning, while Westminster Underground station was closed. The parliament grounds have also been shut, although not many lawmakers are using the building as the UK government is in recess.

Several eye witness reports said it appeared the driver intentionally raced down the road towards the parliament building and failed to stop after hitting pedestrians.

In March 2017, Khalid Masood killed four people on Westminster Bridge just outside the Houses of Parliament, before going on to stab an unarmed police officer to death in the parliament grounds. He was shot dead at the scene.

What we know so far

• A silver Ford Fiesta collided with the barriers outside the UK Parliament at 7:37 a.m. local time (0637 UTC).
• Photographs on social media showed the alleged driver in handcuffs being escorted away by heavily armed police.
• Several eye witness reports said it appeared the driver intentionally raced down the road towards the parliament building and failed to stop after hitting pedestrians.
• None of the injured are believed to be in life-threatening condition, according to London police.
• The driver, in his late 20s, has been detained on suspicion of terrorism. Counter-terrorism officers are leading the investigation.

Inputs by NH Web Desk

Deutsche Welle, or Dw, is Germany's public international broadcaster