A 26-year-old sword-wielding man attacked and wounded three police officers outside Buckingham Palace in London before being arrested, prompting Scotland Yard to launch a terror investigation.
The man initially held on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and assault on police has now been re-arrested under the UK’s Terrorism Act 2000, the Metropolitan Police said on Saturday.
“A car deliberately drove at a police van and stopped in front of it in a restricted area on Constitution Hill near Buckingham Palace. The officers, who were unarmed police constables and from Westminster borough, got out of the van and approached the car, a blue Toyota Prius,” the police said.
“As they challenged the driver, who was the only occupant in the car, he reached for what we now know to be a four-foot sword which was in the front passenger foot well,” they said. During a struggle, three officers were injured. The man, who repeatedly shouted Allahu Akbar, was incapacitated with tear gas.
Two of the officers were taken by ambulance to hospital with minor cuts and discharged a short time later. The third officer did not require hospital treatment.
The suspect was taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries and then taken to a police station for questioning. Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family were not in Buckingham Palace at the time.
