Police officers on Borough High Street during at least one an incident on London Bridge in London, June 3, 2017. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP)
Police said late Saturday night that a hit-and-run and stabbings on and near London Bridge had been officially declared a “terrorist incident.”
Armed officers flooded the busy area of the city after a van struck multiple people on the bridge.
Witnesses also reported seeing people being stabbed by at least one man. Several people were reported killed and injured.
Police said the incidents occurred on the bridge and at Borough Market a short distance away. A vehicle veered off the road and mowed down pedestrians on London Bridge, turning a summery Saturday night into a scene of panic and chaos.
Soon after, there were reported stabbings at nearby Borough Market, an area full of bars and restaurants. The force said armed officers were sent to the scenes and shots were fired. They did not say if officers fired the shots.
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People run down Borough High Street as police deal with a “major incident” at London Bridge in London, June 3, 2017. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP)
The force initially said they were also responding to a reported third incident, in the Vauxhall area of London. But they said later that turned out to be an unrelated stabbing.
Minutes before the police announcement, British Prime Minister Theresa May called the events a “potential act of terrorism” after reports of a van hitting pedestrians, stabbings and armed police firing shots around the London Bridge area.
“Following updates from police and security officials, I can confirm that the terrible incident in London is being treated as a potential act of terrorism,” May said in a statement.
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