Attack on London Update

What happened after the London Attack?

Darren Tung, Staff Writer

The attack near the London Parliament Wednesday came as a shock to the world. In a mere 82 seconds, an armed attacker killed four people injured 50 others. Satellite images recorded the entire event, which included the terrorist crashing his Hyundai after running pedestrians over on Westminster Bridge, running out, stabbing a police officer, and getting shot by police.

Following the attack, police identified the terrorist as 52 year old Khalid Masood, an English teacher at the General Authority of Civil Aviation in Saudi Arabia. Khalid Masood was not his birth name; he was born Adrian Russell Elms in Kent, England before using the last name Ajao when his mother married someone with that name. It was only after his conversion to Islam in the mid-2000s that he became Masood. The man also has a criminal history, with his most notable crimes including several stabbing incidents in 2000 and 2003 that precipitated a three year prison stretch. Nevertheless, none of the incidents qualified as terrorist acts, so he slipped under the radar of MI5.

ISIS claimed that Masood was one of their soldiers shortly after the attacks; they have stated their “next target” following the 2015 Paris Attacks would be the United Kingdom. In addition, as of March 26, 2017, 12 arrests have been made to apprehend people with possible links to the recent attack, of which 9 remain in custody. Police have also seized nearly 3,000 documents and “massive amounts” of computer data from Masood’s house.

Much has been done to honor the victims of the attack. London’s Mayor, Acting Police Commissioner, FA Chairman, and Cultural Secretary each laid down one wreath per victim of the terrorist attack during a regularly scheduled soccer game. A minute of silence followed. In addition, people held hands throughout Westminster Bridge, solemnly remembering Keith Palmer, Aysha Frade, Kurt Cochran, and Leslie Rhodes–victims of a terrible atrocity.