LONDON — At least five people are dead and 40 injured in what authorities are calling a terror attack in London.

The attacker plowed into people on the city's Westminster Bridge, killing a woman before ramming his car into the gates outside Parliament.

Police say the driver, armed with a knife, then attacked an officer who was guarding Parliament.

The attacker was shot and killed by police.

British police say one policeman and three civilians were killed in the attack.

The policeman killed in the attack was identified at 48-year-old Keith Palmer, a 15-year Metropolitan Police veteran.

Flights return to Atlanta from London

Channel 2's Justin Wilfon spoke to metro Atlantans who were glad to be back on U.S. soil.

"I'm happy to be here now. Happy to be on the ground," traveler Jack Albanese said.

Many passengers didn't know of the attack until they landed.

"We just heard from the flight attendant that there had been an attack in London," traveler Mark Thebaut said.

"I had about 40 texts from my family wanting to know if I was home safe, so that's how I knew that something had happened," traveler Linda Webster said.

Wilfon also stopped by a British-themed shop at the Marietta Square, where everyone who came in was talking about the attack.

"It's just very, very said. Very heartbreaking. Just the shock and the horror," owner and UK native Tina Barnes said.

Minute by Minute Coverage

The Latest on reports of an incident outside Britain's parliament:

8:15 p.m.

South Korea's foreign ministry said five South Koreans in their 50s and 60s were among the 40 people injured in London during the terror attack outside Parliament.

The ministry said they were hurt when they were caught up in a stampede of people trying to escape the attack.

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6:30 p.m. 

British police say five people died in the terror attack outside Parliament. Counter-terrorism chief Mark Rowley said one policeman, three civilians and the attacker died. He said a further 40 people were wounded.

U.K. police say extra armed officers to be on the streets in the next few days.

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5 p.m.

Prime Minister Theresa May has condemned the "sick and depraved terrorist attack" in London and says the targeting Parliament was no accident.

In a late-night statement outside her Downing Street office Wednesday, a defiant May said the nation will not give in to terror and those who targeted the seat of power in Britain.

She insisted that "tomorrow morning Parliament will meet as normal," and urged the country to move on and behave as normal on Thursday.

May says "we will all move forward together, never giving in to terror and never allowing the voices of hate and evil to drive us apart."

The prime minister confirmed that four people died in the attack and praised the security services who ran toward danger.

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4 p.m.

A French government plane is set to fly to London Wednesday evening to bring the families of three French students wounded in the attacks at the British Parliament to their loved ones.

French President Francois Hollande announced the move in a statement Wednesday night after speaking with British Prime Minister Theresa May.

May confirmed to Hollande that three French high school students from France's western Britanny region were wounded in the attacks, the statement said.

Hollande offered his condolences to May for those who died in the attacks and expressed France's solidarity with Britain "in this tragic ordeal."

"The British and French services are in close contact to conduct the investigation," Hollande added.

London is a common destination for French school trips.

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3:55 p.m.

Romania's foreign ministry says two Romanians were wounded in a deadly attack in London's Westminster that left four dead.

The ministry said the two had been taken to a hospital for treatment. There were no further details on the identity of the two or how seriously they were injured. The ministry said it had been informed by authorities in London.

A knife-wielding man went on a deadly rampage near the Parliament, mowing down pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge before stabbing an armed police officer to death inside the gates of Parliament. Four people were killed, including the attacker. About 20 others were injured.

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3:20 p.m.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy condemned the deadly attack in London's Westminster on Wednesday and offered condolences to the British people in a telegram sent to his British counterpart Theresa May.

"An execrable terrorist act like the one that took place today is a reminder that we face complex challenges for the security of our societies," said Rajoy in a transcript of the telegram distributed by Moncloa, the prime minister's palace.

"We must remain united against these type of threats that affect all of us equally and that know no barriers," Rajoy wrote, offering Spain's support to the UK.

Israel, which that has faced a wave of Palestinian car ramming, stabbing and shooting assaults since 2015, also expressed solidarity with the victims of the London attack.

Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said in a statement. "Israel expresses its deep shock at the terror attack in London today and its solidarity with the victims and with the people and government of Great Britain. Terror is terror wherever it occurs and we will fight it relentlessly."
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2:50 p.m.

One British lawmaker was hailed by some as a hero in Wednesday's attack on the British Parliament.

Conservative parliamentarian and Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood, whose brother was killed in the Bali terror attack in 2002, performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the police officer who was stabbed and later died. About 10 yards away was the attacker who was shot dead by police after scaling the security wall toward Parliament's grounds.

Ellwood, who served in the British military, applied pressure to the police officer's multiple lacerations.

Photographs showed Ellwood's bloodied hands and face from the police officer's wounds while the alleged attacker was seen nearby.
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2:20 p.m.

The White House is condemning the attacks in London involving a car rampage and knife attack. President Donald Trump is said to be monitoring developments.

Spokesman Sean Spicer said Wednesday Trump spoke with British Prime Minister Theresa May and said that the White House applauds "the quick response of British police and first responders" and condemns the attacks.

A vehicle mowed down pedestrians on a bridge and the attacker then stabbed a police officer outside the British Parliament. At least four people died, including the attacker and a police officer.

Spicer says that the city of London and the British government have the "full support" of the U.S. as they investigate the attack.

The U.S. Homeland Security Department says the security posture in the United States has not changed in the wake of the attack.

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2:15 p.m.

The Italian interior ministry says the nation's top security and intelligence officials will huddle in Rome on Thursday for "an evaluation of the terrorist threat" after the attacks in London.

The ministry said minister Marco Minniti convened the Committee of Strategic Anti-terrorism Analyses following "the tragic facts in London," in which a vehicle mowed down pedestrians on a bridge and the attacker then stabbed a police officer outside the British Parliament. At least four people died, including the attacker and a police officer.

Italian security was already on high alert for a European Union summit bringing EU nation leaders to Rome Friday for a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, and a ceremony in the Italian capital Saturday.

Authorities are bracing for possible violence during several marches Saturday, drawing thousands of both pro-and anti-EU participants.

2:15 p.m.

Vice President Mike Pence tweeted about the attack:

2:02 p.m.

The head of counterterrorism at London's Metropolitan Police, says four people have died in the terror incident in London, including an attacker and a police officer.

Mark Rowley says some 20 people have been wounded and Parliament was locked down. A search is underway to make certain no other attackers are in the area - though police believe there was only one attacker.

Rowley said the dead policeman was one of the armed officers who guard Parliament. The other victims were on Westminster Bridge.

Rowley says "We are satisfied at this stage that it looks like there was only one attacker. But it would be foolish to be overconfident early on."

1:25 p.m.

French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve says that French high school students are among the wounded in the attack in London.

In a tweet Wednesday, Cazeneuve offered support to the British as well as to "the French students wounded, their families and their schoolmates."

London is a common destination for French school trips.

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1:15 p.m.

British port officials say they pulled a woman from the Thames River following the incident on Westminster Bridge.

The Port of London Authority says a female member of the public was recovered from the river, injured but alive.

The authority says it has closed the river between Vauxhall Bridge and Embankment while a major security operation is under way after a suspected terror attack at the Houses of Parliament in London.

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1:10 p.m.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May will chair a meeting of the government emergency committee to discuss the response to the terror incident in London.

The emergency committee known as Cobra coordinates the high-level response to serious incidents. It brings together government ministers with senior officials of the emergency services and security and intelligence agencies.

Such meetings are held after serious incidents such at the July 7, 2005, attack on London transport services.

The Wednesday meeting is held in the briefing room of the Cabinet Office on Whitehall.

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1:07 p.m.

London's Metropolitan police release statement regarding the investigation into the attack:

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1:05 p.m.

The U.S. State Department says it is closely monitoring the incident outside London's Parliament and urged Americans in London to avoid the area.

Spokesman Mark Toner said Wednesday: "We stand ready to assist in any way the U.K. authorities would find helpful."

He added that the U.S. Embassy in London is closely following the news and stands ready to help any affected Americans.

He said: "Our hearts go out to those affected."

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12:50 p.m.

Witness Rick Longley told the Press Association that he saw a man stab a policeman outside Britain's Parliament.

"We were just walking up to the station and there was a loud bang and a guy, someone, crashed a car and took some pedestrians out," he said.

"They were just laying there and then the whole crowd just surged around the corner by the gates just opposite Big Ben.

"A guy came past my right shoulder with a big knife and just started plunging it into the policeman.

"I have never seen anything like that. I just can't believe what I just saw."

Lawmaker Adam Holloway told the AP he saw people running and immediately ran into his offices in Parliament to be with his staff. "A lot of us are locked in with our staff at the moment," he said.

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12 p.m.

The White House says U.S. President Donald Trump has been briefed on a gun and knife incident at Britain's Parliament in London.

Trump himself said during a brief appearance Wednesday before reporters at the White House that he was just getting the news. He called it "big news."

Trump's spokesman, Sean Spicer, says the U.S. will continue to monitor the situation and update the president.

Britain's Parliament was on lockdown after - according to officials - an assailant stabbed an officer then was shot by police.

London Police also said officers were called to an incident on nearby Westminster Bridge

ORIGINAL STORY:

Britain's Parliament was on lockdown Wednesday after an assailant stabbed an officer, then was shot by police, officials said. London Police also said officers were called to an incident on Westminster Bridge nearby.

The UK Press Association reported that doctors said one woman has died and others have `catastrophic' injuries.

London police say they are treating the gun and knife incident at Britain's Parliament "as a terrorist incident until we know otherwise."

On the bridge, witnesses said a vehicle struck several people, and photos showed a car plowed into railings. Witnesses in Parliament reported hearing sounds like gunfire.

A British lawmaker says he heard four gunshots and was told to crawl for cover.

Leader of the House of Commons David Lidington said an assailant at Parliament was shot and that there were reporters of further violent incidents in the vicinity."

The former Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski posted a video on Twitter that seems to show people lying injured in the road on Westminster Bridge.

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Sikorski, a senior fellow at the Harvard Centre for European Studies, says he saw at least five people lying on the ground after being "mown down" by a car.

Sikorski told the BBC he "heard what I thought what I thought was just a collision and then I looked through the window of the taxi and someone down, obviously in great distress.

"Then I saw a second person down, and I started filming, then I saw three more people down, one of them bleeding profusely."

Journalists there said they were told to stay in their offices. The Press Association news agency reported that two people were seen lying within the grounds of Parliament.

George Eaton, a journalist with the New Statesman, said that from the window of Parliament's Press Gallery, he saw police shoot a man who charged at officers.

"A large crowd was seen fleeing the man before he entered the parliamentary estate," he wrote on the publication's website. "After several officers evaded him he was swiftly shot by armed police."

Cox Media Group