In March 2017, a Briton by the name of Khalid Masood drove a vehicle into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge in London. More than 50 people were injured, and 4 were killed. Masood then ran the car into a gate and got out of the vehicle where he proceeded to fatally stab an unarmed police officer, bringing the number killed to 5. He was then shot and killed by an armed police officer. The attack occurred in Parliament Yard, causing Westminster and all Members of Parliament to be locked down for 4 hours.
The attack was treated as Islamist-related terrorism. Correspondence was found on Masood’s phone detailing his desire to wage jihad for actions taken by Western military in Middle Eastern Muslim countries. ISIS linked media claimed to have influenced Masood by calling for attacks against Western countries. However, authorities couldn’t find a link between Masood and any terrorist organization to corroborate that claim. It seemed that Masood was just another radicalized individual seeking to carry out acts of terrorism.
