Two police officers outside of Buckingham Palace in London were attacked by a man who was reportedly wielding a knife on Friday night. According to ABC News, Metropolitan Police arrested an unidentified individual for allegedly assaulting its officers at the historic location. During the altercation, the suspect apparently inflicted “minor injuries” on the two officers, who are otherwise reported as doing fine. The agency’s official Twitter account posted regular updates on the situation, as many passersby noticed the area had been placed on lockdown.
An official report issued by the Metropolitan Police stated, “A man has been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and assault on police” following an incident that occurred sometime around 8:35pm local time. The incident occurred “at the Mall outside Buckingham Palace,” and the suspect was found to be “in possession of knife” when the authorities took him into custody. Two of the officers who tried to detain the man “suffered minor injuries to their arm[s],” but “were treated at the scene” and “not… taken to hospital” since their injuries apparently weren’t that serious.
While the incident apparent to have been contained, and the Queen reportedly wasn’t in Buckingham Palace at the time, police are still investigating the nature of the attack. The word “terrorism” hasn’t been thrown around in an official capacity as of now either, though considering London’s recent history with terrorist attacks — and the same-day knife attack against two soldiers in Brussels, Belgium — it hasn’t been ruled out. Even so, it’s far too early to tell what motivated the suspect to attack the officers.
(Via ABC News and Metropolitan Police)