British counter-terrorism police carried out searches at three locations in central England on Tuesday night as part of their investigation into a vehicle attack where a car injured three people before slamming into barriers outside the Houses of Parliament in downtown London, according to The Associated Press.
Police said the suspect is a 29-year-old U.K. national who was being questioned at a south London police station after being arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act.
Officials said the silver Fiesta traveled from Birmingham to London Monday night before it was driven around the Westminster and Whitehall area for several hours before the sudden attack.
Two addresses in Birmingham and one in Nottingham were searched.
Roger Godsiff, the MP for Birmingham Hall Green, said, “Today’s attack at Westminster was carried out by an individual who is believed to have been living in my constituency in Birmingham.”
Nottinghamshire police said they were supporting the counter-terrorism officers during a search of a residential property in the Radford area.
Neighbors said the house was shared by six Sudanese people.
Two men and one woman were injured in the attack on Tuesday, with one receiving treatment at the scene and two were transported to the hospital before they were discharged.
Home secretary Sajid Javid called on Brits to "keep an open mind" about what happened on Tuesday.
“There are understandably a lot of questions about the incident," he said. "The briefing I have received from counter-terrorism police and the security services is that work is ongoing and they are doing everything they can to find out more."
Police said there have been no other arrests in connection with the investigation but Britain's government decided to maintain the threat level for terrorism at severe after the attack.
The government's emergency committee met on Tuesday to discuss elevating the level but Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu of the Metropolitan Police said they believed there was no further threat to Londoners.
Prime Minister Theresa May was visiting Italy but called on the country to come together and carry on while remaining vigilant.
British police have already foiled 13 Islami extremist plots and four far-right plots since March 2017 and currently have more than 650 active counterterrorism investigations underway.
Police said they would be lifting cordons that sealed off most of the Westminster government district after the attack.
London's mayor Sadiq Khan called on residents and tourists to remain calm and vigilant after the attack.
One witness to the crash Ewalina Ochab said: “The car drove at speed and towards the barriers. I was walking on the other side [of the road]. I heard some noise and someone screamed.”
“I turned around and I saw a silver car driving very fast close to the railings, maybe even on the pavement. The person driving did not go out of the vehicle.”
-WN.com, Maureen Foody
Photo:
AP / Frank Augstein