With Lawmaker’s Killing, U.K. Confronts a New Episode of Terrorism
The New York Times
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other leaders paid their respects to David Amess, who was fatally stabbed while meeting with constituents. The police have a suspect in custody and said the attack was linked to Islamist extremism.
LONDON — Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other British leaders paid their respects on Saturday morning at a church east of London where a Conservative lawmaker was fatally stabbed a day earlier, as the country grappled with another apparent episode of lone-wolf terrorism.
A somber Mr. Johnson — joined by the opposition leader, Keir Starmer, and other officials — laid flowers outside the Methodist church in Leigh-on-Sea, a sleepy seaside community that was convulsed on Friday when the lawmaker, David Amess, was assaulted during a routine meeting with constituents.
The police arrested a 25-year-old man at the scene and said they were conducting searches at two locations in the London area. The Metropolitan Police formally declared the attack a terrorist episode, with a potential link to Islamist extremism, but they have not yet identified the man, who they said they believed acted alone. The BBC, citing government sources, reported that he was a British national who appeared to be of Somali heritage.
