UPDATE: Possible terrorist attack close to British Parliament, today

A car crashed into the barriers outside Britain’s Parliament today, leaving several pedestrians injured. Police said the driver is arrested  and that the counter-terrorism unit is leading the investigation.

An eyewitness said the car was travelling westbound past the Houses of Parliament when it swerved into eastbound traffic. Images posted to social media showed a man in handcuffs being led away from the car by officers after the crash.

British television showed armed police surrounding a white or silver saloon car that had hit heavy barriers outside St. Stephen’s Gate, the main public entrance to Parliament. Its bonnet was crumpled and its airbags had been deployed.

The London Ambulance Service said it treated two people at the scene for injuries “that are not believed to be serious.” Both have been taken to the hospital, the service said on Twitter.

Parliament is in recess, and few lawmakers are likely to have been in the building, especially just after 7:30 a.m. when the incident took place. Police said they have shut Westminster subway station and cleared out hundreds of commuters.

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Still, other entrances to the building were reopened, indicating it wasn’t being put into a full lock-down.

The building is one of the world’s major terrorist targets. In March 2017, a man drove a car through pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, before crashing into the railings and running in through the gates. He killed four pedestrians and a policeman before he was shot dead.

UPDATE

British police said they believe the man arrested deliberately drove a car into pedestrians and cyclists before ramming it into barriers outside London’s parliament in what appeared to be the second terrorism attack on the building in just under 18 months.

Three people were injured after the vehicle was driven through a group of cyclists and pedestrians during the early morning rush hour before smashing into a protective barrier on a lane used for accessing parliament.

The driver, a man in his 20s, was arrested by armed officers at the scene moments later

The suspect in Tuesday’s incident was in custody but was not co-operating with detectives. Although he had not been formally identified, the man was not believed to be known to security forces.

According to the Police, a silver Ford Fiesta had collided with a number of cyclists and pedestrians before crashing into barriers outside the Houses of Parliament at 06.37 a.m.

Two people were taken to hospital and one woman was still receiving treatment for serious but not life-threatening injuries.