Unprecedented Amount of Force Used Against London Attackers
Police in London say they used unprecedented amount of force to ensure the London attackers were neutralized in less than ten minutes.
Seven people were killed and more than 50 others were injured in a terrorist attack in London on Saturday, June 3. The attack marks the third terrorist incident in England in three months.
The attack started when three men drove their van down London Bridge and mounted the sidewalk, hitting a crowd on the bridge. The men then jumped out of the van and stabbed people at a nearby outdoor market. London authorities were on the scene within two minutes of the initial car crash and neutralized the attackers within eight minutes of the first call to police.
Metropolitan police say they used an unprecedented amount of shots fired at the three attackers, as they were unsure if the men had suicide bombs strapped to them. Eight officers fired 50 bullets in Borough Market to kill the three attackers. One civilian was caught in the cross fire, but was not seriously injured.
Scotland Yard’s head of counter-terror Mark Rowley said the scale of gunfire was “unprecedented,” but not surprising given the situation.
As of Sunday, June 4, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. Prime Minister Theresa May said “enough is enough” and says she would like to revamp the UK’s counterterrorism strategy.
As part of the revamp, May urged tech companies to crack down on extremist content online. Major social media tech companies Facebook and Twitter said they would help to better regulate their corners of the internet.
A statement from Simon Miller, Facebook’s director of policy, said that the social media platform will work aggressively to remove terrorist content.
“We want Facebook to be a hostile environment for terrorists,” Miller said.
U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted out America’s support for London and the victims.