LONDON, March 23. /TASS/. The death toll from the terrorist act that occurred near the Westminster Palace in London on Wednesday has risen to four with fourty people injured, said Mark Rowley, the Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations in the Metropolitan Police Service.
"One of those who died today was a police officer - PC Keith Palmer - a member of our Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command," he said. "And I confirmed earlier, the suspected attacker was shot dead by an armed officer - therefore meaning we now have five people in total who have died," Mark Rowley added.
He said he would not comment on the identity of the attacker, adding that the working assumption is that he was inspired by international terrorism.
"We have hundreds of officers working on this investigation and they are focusing on the suspect's motivation, preparation and associates" the national lead for Counter Terrorism Policing and the Acting Deputy Commissioner said.
On Wednesday, a car struck several pedestrians on Westminster Bridge in London and then crashed into railings, after which at least one person armed with a knife stabbed to death a police officer before being shot by police as he tried to get into the Houses of Parliament.
Scotland Yard treats this as a terror attack. The attack came exactly one year after terrorist attacks in Brussels in which 32 people were killed and more than 320 were wounded in two blasts at the international airport of Brussels and one more hitting the Maelbeek metro station in the city center close to several European Union institutions.