Gun Fire Rocks United Kingdom Parliament (Photos)

 

Major security alert was activated at the Palace of Westminster after a man apparently carrying a knife charged through the gates into the front yard of the parliamentary compound.

 

Amid shouts and screams, sounds similar to gunfire rang out. A man was reportedly shot by police outside the Houses of Parliament.

 

Two people were seen to be lying within Old Palace Yard, immediately outside Westminster Hall. The sitting in the House of Commons was suspended while police officers sealed off the area around the incident.

 

 

Immediately before the incident, at around 2.45pm, a crowd of passers-by was seen running from the direction of Westminster Bridge and around the corner into Parliament Square.

 

In the same vein, the leader of Britain's House of Commons says a man attacked a police officer at Parliament and has been shot by police.

 

David Lidington, a member of the Conservative government, said the Parliament complex was in lockdown.

 

He said there were reports of further violent incidents nearby, and police said they have been called to a firearms incident on nearby Westminster Bridge.

 

Witnesses said a vehicle struck several people on the bridge, and photos showed a car plowed into railings.

 

 

At least four people were lying on the ground on Westminster Bridge near Parliament, some bleeding heavily and apparently unconscious.

 

Two people were being treated inside the gates by medical staff, a Reuters witness said.

 

A parliamentary clerk told Reuters two people had been shot, but there was no official confirmation from the police.  The Speaker of the House of Commons suspended the session as police responded to the incident. Armed police were seen entering Parliament.