In the news

what a day... :(

He must have thought he could bust through that wall by driving at it. Man's a fucking idiot.

Its unlikely that the full motives will ever be understood although we'll get a more comprehensive picture over the next few weeks and months.

My own speculation is that the attacker will not have acted entirely alone and that others in the background will have been involved in encouraging and facilitating the attack. If the attacker themself didn't consider it, the others would be likely to understand the reaction of the major media outlets and how that would have affected public perceptions of safety and exacerbated divisions.

May: "Attacker acted alone".

Met Police: "Eight arrested in relation to attack"

I think the May statement was to indicate that there weren't any other attackers present at the scene. There had been concern that another person had managed to access to Portcullis House/Westminster Palace or been present in the vehicle used in the attack.

Acted alone yet was investigated by and known to MI5 previously??!??

There are thousands of people who are investigated and known and perhaps given a lower priority as "they" can't watch all the people all of the time.

Unless someone crosses the line into criminally proscribed speech, you can't lock them up for being a blowhard. All anyone can do is try to be able to spot them if they ever decide to stop being an armchair extremist.

Was the officer who was killed armed?

No

Diplomatic Protection, so I had assumed so.

I stand corrected

Oh man. I love the fact that most UK police officers don't carry guns, but what the fuck do you do if confronted by some nutter with a huge knife?

I can't believe this guy managed to crash his vehicle into a bunch of people on Westminster Bridge then run around the corner, get inside the gates and take out a copper with a knife... Ludicrous security at the HoP IMHO...

Until the end of December last year my missus worked at the college in Westminster where Aysha Frade worked so she did the same walk to and from work 4 days a week. I hate the self-dramatising turn when this sort of thing happens but feeling rather sick this morning.

Well it show's how rarely it happens...

Why didn't they shoot to injure/disarm?

Convenient for the terror narrative that he was shot and killed and now we'll never know his motives

I think the motives are pretty obvious.

I assume in case he had a bomb?

Why didn't they shoot to injure/disarm?

Maybe they did but he died anyway, maybe the shot they took was the only one available, maybe it was scary and high pressured and they did what they could, maybe the shooter thought 'fuck him, he's going down' and put one between his eyes, maybe it's all a massive conspiracy by the lizard ppl.

what do you think his motives might have been?

In a complex and fast moving situation, you don't know that they didn't attempt this. The narrative and emerging images clearly show an attempt to treat and resuscitate the attacker after he was shot. You don't do that if you've just attempted a kill shot.

No I don't. But it seems to be common occurrence

I think the motives are pretty obvious.

guess we could have asked him at some point though.......

I think "shoot to incapacitate" is more a thing in the movies than in real life, once you start poking holes in people at 700 miles per hour in a high stress situation it's going to be more likely than not that this is fatal.

maybe you're right @Dammit however, if you aim at the limbs, surely that's not going to have same impact as aiming at torso? Are the Met shoot to kill in all terror instances?