Four people are dead after an alleged terror attack in London this afternoon, the BBC reports. An armed police officer was fatally stabbed in the Houses of Parliament and the man “believed to be the attacker” was shot by police. Moments before, the alleged attacker slammed his car into the railings of the Westminster Bridge after mowing through a crowd of pedestrians, killing one woman and injuring at least 20 others. United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May was evacuated from the area.

Acting Deputy Commissioner and head of counter terrorism at the Metropolitan Police, Mark Rowley, said a major terrorist investigation was under way. …

Mr Rowley said after the car crashed, a man armed with the knife “continued the attack and tried to enter Parliament”.

Witnesses say there was what appeared to be a warning shout and then the crack of three or four shots before the attacker fell to the floor.

The injured include three French secondary school students from Brittany and a woman who was “rescued from the Thames with serious injuries, after she apparently jumped or fell from the bridge,” The Guardian reports.

From The New York Times:

“This is the day we have planned for but we hoped would never happen,” Mr. Rowley said. “Sadly, it’s now a reality.”

The attack came on the anniversary of suicide bombings in Brussels that killed 32 people, along with three bombers. The violence raised fears that London, which has been largely spared as a target of recent terrorist attacks, has now joined cities like Paris, Brussels and Berlin as targets of mass violence.

Mrs. May spoke with President Trump, and was scheduled to lead a crisis-response meeting of her cabinet on Wednesday evening. …

[Metropolitan Police Commander B.J.] Harrington said that the police knew of “a number of casualties, including police officers,” but that he could not confirm a precise figure.

BBC correspondent Dominic Casciani wrote that today’s attack looks like something carried out by “jihadis” and claimed that it was part of a pattern of “marauding” attacks, similar to what was seen in Nice, France last summer. Neither U.K. leaders nor law enforcement have confirmed where the attacker is from or what his motives may have been.

The Trump administration’s response to the attack below:

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