Politics: 6 victims, 3 attackers dead after 'terrorist incidents' at London Bridge, Borough Market

Media outlets have reported multiple fatalities, although police have not confirmed the number.

British police responded to the incidents across London on Saturday evening, after witnesses reported a vehicle mowing down pedestrians on the London Bridge, and subsequent stabbings at Borough Market.

At least 30 patients were taken to six hospitals across London following the incident on the London Bridge, according to the London Ambulance Service.

Police believe they killed all of the attackers involved in the incidents, according to Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley. But he added that the scene is "complex" and authorities are still determining how events unfolded.

According to investigators, police began receiving reports of a vehicle striking pedestrians on the London Bridge around 11:08 local time, and the vehicle drove from the bridge to Borough Market.

At that point, the three attackers — all of them male — left the vehicle and began stabbing people. Armed officers then shot and killed the suspects in Borough Market.

The suspects were wearing what appeared to be explosive vests, but were later determined to be fake, Rowley said.

Rowley told media that the police department's counter-terrorism command is investigating, and that the public should continue to avoid the London Bridge and Borough Market areas.

Several hours after the incidents occurred, several explosions controlled and monitored by police were heard near the London Bridge, according to an editor at The Sun.

Officers also responded to a stabbing incident in the Vauxhall area Saturday evening, but later said it was unconnected to the London Bridge and Borough Market incidents.

British Prime Minister Theresa May will chair a meeting of the government’s emergency response committee on Sunday, the Associated Press reported.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was in contact with the police commissioner, and released a statement calling the incidents "a deliberate and cowardly attack on innocent Londoners."

"I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. There is no justification whatsoever for such barbaric acts," Khan said.

US President Donald Trump was also briefed on the incident, and posted tweets offering US support and touting his travel ban that has been blocked by federal courts. "We need to be smart, vigilant and tough. We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety," Trump wrote.

Trump later spoke with May over the phone, offering condolences and US support. He also praised the "heroic response of police and other first responders," according to a White House readout of the call.

Media outlets reported scenes of chaos and violence during the attacks — Reuters reported that one witness had seen people who may have had their throats cut.

One taxi driver told the BBC he had witnessed three men emerge from the vehicle that "knocked loads of people down" on the London Bridge.

"A van came from London Bridge itself, went between the traffic light system and rammed it towards the steps," the driver said. "Then three men got out with long blades, 12 inches long and went randomly along Borough High Street stabbing people at random."

Police said shots were fired at Borough Market after armed officers responded to the scene.

Media outlets later published a photograph that purportedly showed one of the attackers lying on the ground with what appeared to be canisters strapped to his body. The photographer, Gabriele Sciotto, told the BBC he didn’t think the canisters looked real.

Borough Market is a popular gourmet food market in the South London neighborhood at one end of London Bridge. It is near the Shard, one of London's tallest skyscrapers and one if its most popular tourist destinations.

The London incidents come less than two weeks after a terror attack outside an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester killed 22 people.

A similar attack also occurred in March on London's Westminster Bridge, where a man killed five people after driving into pedestrians. He also stabbed a police officer.

Lara Al-Ostta witnessed the aftermath of the London Bridge incident. Al-Ostta told The Guardian she was having drinks with a friend at the Old Thameside Inn, which is located under London Bridge, when people ran into the bar and told patrons to run away because "people are stabbing each other.

Stephen Tull was under the bridge when the attack happened. He said he heard a bang and ran up to the bridge to help. He said he saw one man jump out of a van and begin attacking people.

When Al-Ostta and her friend ran up to London Bridge, she said she and her friend were told by officers to run away. Al-Ostta provided video footage to The Guardian which showed at least three injured people being treated for their injuries on the bridge.

"I saw people moving, but we though, f---, this is a serious thing," Al-Ostta said.

Londoners also reportedly sprang to the aid of those affected by the incidents, offering up food, shelter, or assistance.

The Royal Oak pub in Southwark offered shelter to people who had been evacuated from hotels inside the area police had blocked off, the Associated Press reported. One cab company also reportedly tweeted an offer to provide free rides to anyone stranded.

Here are some tweets from the scene:

Police reportedly have evacuated people from bars and restaurants in the vicinity of the London Bridge and Borough Market. Here's video of police entering a pub and ordering people to get down:

This story is developing...

Media outlets have reported multiple fatalities, although police have not confirmed the number. Read Full Story