Two people who were wounded in a knife attack on London Bridge Friday afternoon have died from their injuries, London Metropolitan Police announced at a news conference.
Earlier, British police shot and killed the man responsible for the attack, who was also found to be wearing a hoax explosive vest.
Officials declared the attack a “terrorist incident.”
Three other people remained hospitalized, authorities said, and the extent of their injuries was not immediately clear.
Police said two members of the public tackled the knife-wielding suspect before police drew their guns. Authorities did not release any other information about the suspect.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that police are not pursuing anyone else in the attack.
Earlier accounts said that at least five people were wounded, some in serious condition.
The Metropolitan Police first reported a “major incident” at or near the bridge just before 2 p.m. London time, after reports of “a stabbing at premises near to London Bridge.”
The historic British landmark in the center of the British capital was shut down during the immediate chaos of the incident.
Scores of police, some armed with submachine guns, flooded the area, ushering office workers and tourists out of the area, which is packed with office buildings, banks, restaurants and bars. Staff in nearby office blocks were told to stay inside.
Police with guns drawn cleared the streets as workers in nearby shops and restaurants ushered customers into storerooms and basements.
Multiple passenger buses were seen stopped along the route to the bridge as police shut down streets. A white semi-truck was stopped diagonally and blocking all lanes.
A video posted later to social media showed two men struggling on the bridge before police separated him from an assailant on the ground. Gunshots can be heard.
Another video showed a man holding a long knife.
Other video from the scene shows more than a dozen police and emergency vehicles gathered on a street near the scene.
A journalist with the British news agency BBC was one of the first to report hearing gunshots in the area.
On social media, witnesses posted video of people running off the bridge in a panic and vehicles trying to turn around on the street. Eyewitness video is also emerging of the attack just as an individual is shot by police.
Credit: Chris J Ratcliffe
Credit: Chris J Ratcliffe
The area was said to be bustling with tourists during the peak of lunch hour.
It was also the scene of a major terrorist attack in June 2017, when seven people were killed and another 48 injured after a vehicle plowed into pedestrians on London Bridge and others were stabbed at Borough Market.
Earlier that year, in March 2017, another attacker fatally drove his car into four people on nearby Westminster Bridge then fatally stabbed a police officer before security forces shot and killed him in a courtyard outside Parliament.
— This is a developing story. Information from the Associated Press was used to supplement this report. Please return to AJC.com for updates.
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