Car 'PLOUGHS INTO PEDESTRIANS' in London. This is the suspect, who gets arrested pic.twitter.com/FiirNDHybi
— Voice of Europe 🌍 (@V_of_Europe) October 7, 2017
A man was detained in London around 2:20 p.m. Saturday after a car collided with pedestrians near the Natural History Museum in the city’s section of South Kensington. 11 total injuries have been reported at the scene, which was seen swarming with armed police in video and photos posted to social media, as ambulances rushed in and helicopters circled overhead. The South Kensington tube station has been temporarily shut down in the aftermath.
As of now, authorities are not treating the incident as a terrorist attack, however the cause of the collision is still under investigation and police are said to be keeping an “open mind” regarding any possible motives. It’s understandable if Londoners are on edge following the incident, as the city has been the target of several terror attacks in recent months.
In June seven people were killed and over 30 more injured when a van plowed into a group of pedestrians outside of a pub near the London Bridge, before three knife-wielding suspects stabbed several patrons. The incident followed a deadly explosion at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, and then later that month another van plowed into a group of worshipers outside of a mosque during Ramadan, killing one pedestrian and injuring 11 others.
Update: London police are now completely ruling out an act of terrorism, saying in a statement: “The incident is a road traffic investigation and not a terrorist-related incident.”