Politics

PHOTOS FROM THE SCENE OF THE LONDON ATTACKS

London Bridge
Reuters
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LONDON — Seven people were killed and 48 injured last night in a terrorist attack on London Bridge and nearby Borough Market in the nation's capital.

The area was packed with revellers and tourists enjoying a warm summer night at the neighbourhood's many restaurants and bars.

At 10.08 p.m., one of the most busy times at the food and entertainment centre, a white rented Hertz van careened across the bridge, running over pedestrians. At the Borough Market end, three men got out and began slashing and stabbing people at random.

Scroll down for some of the most dramatic and heart-breaking images from the scene last night. ↓

It began at 10.08pm as a white van careened over London Bridge, hitting pedestrians. Three men got out at Borough Market and began stabbing people with long knives. People fled the area.

london bridge incident
AP

Within minutes a police armed-response unit was on the scene.

London Bridge
Reuters

They set up a perimeter around the pubs and restaurants in Borough Market.

london bridge incident
(Photo:Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP) AP

Police in high-viz jackets, anti-stab vests and riot shields took up positions.

London Bridge
Reuters

They ordered scared witnesses to run — not walk — from the area with their hands on their heads to distinguish them from the attackers.

London Bridge
Reuters

Civilians were moved from street to street and block to block as police increased the size of the security zone around the attack.

London Bridge
Reuters

Thousands were moved from the area.

London Bridge
Reuters

The entire incident only took 8 minutes.

London Bridge
Reuters

Police shot dead three men in a barrage of gunfire, ending the incident.

London Bridge
Reuters

Off duty officers also responded to the scene.

London Bridge
Reuters

Restaurant and bar workers were forced into their kitchens, away from the windows, before being evacuated.

London Bridge
Reuters

Restaurant hosts switched off their lights and stoves to avoid catching the attention of the attackers.

London Bridge
Reuters

The general election campaign has been suspended for one day.

London Bridge
Reuters

The entire London Bridge-Borough Market area remains a no-go zone this morning.

london bridge ambulances
Reuters/Hannah McKay

There was a heavy armed police presence on the streets of London as the sun came up.

London Bridge
Reuters

Police inspected dozens of restaurants looking for scared civilians. Some people remain trapped in the frozen zone, although they are not in danger.

London Bridge
Reuters

Police continue to help people to safety. They are controlling access to what is an ongoing, under-investigation crime scene.

London Bridge
Reuters

Police raided a block of flats in East London this morning, detaining 12 people.

London Bridge
REUTERS/Hannah McKay

Several women detained in Barking wore strict Muslim dress.

London Bridge
REUTERS/Hannah McKay

As Theresa May made a speech condemning "Islamic extremism" this morning, a cat walked behind her toward 10 Downing Street.

London theresa May cat
REUTERS/Hannah McKay

A forensic investigator worked on the crime scene at London Bridge.

London bridge
Reuters / Dylan Martinez

The entire London Bridge - Borough Market area is one giant crime scene today.

London bridge
Reuters / Peter Nicholls

With traffic blocked from the area's roads, an urban fox felt bold enough to see what the fuss was about.

London bridge Fox
Reuters / Peter Nicholls

A policewoman guarding the scene this morning paused to take stock of the deaths last night.

London bridge police
REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

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Jim is the former editor-in-chief of Insider's news division.Previously he was the founding editor of Business Insider UK.He has also been managing editor at Adweek, an advertising columnist at CBS Interactive, and a Knight-Bagehot Fellow at Columbia Business School. His work has appeared in Slate, Salon, The Independent, MTV, The Nation and AOL.His investigative journalism changed the law in the US First Circuit Court of Appeals (U.S. v. Kravetz), the Third Circuit Court of Appeals (North Jersey Media v. Ashcroft), New Jersey (In Re El-Atriss), and New York State (Mosallem v. Berenson).The US Supreme Court cited his work on the death penalty in the concurrence to Baze v. Rees, on the issue of whether lethal injection is cruel or unusual.He won the Neal award for business journalism in 2005 for a series investigating bribes and kickbacks in the advertising business.Here's a selection of his past stories:    The alleged betrayal in these photos, texts, and emails cost Snapchat $158 million    Inside the conspiracy that forced Dov Charney out of American Apparel    The Evolution of Ev: The creator of Twitter, Blogger, and Medium has a plan to fix the mess he made of the internet    THE "KNOCK-IN SHORT": Nigel Farage and the massive bet against the pound on the night of the Brexit vote    eBay worked with the FBI to put its top affiliate marketer in prison    How Dunkin Donuts ended up hiring a psychotic credit card thief as director of communications    BEJEWELED: The definitive, illustrated history of the most underrated game ever   • The CEO of Publicis told us how he stared down a furious internal rebellion to bet the future of his $11 billion company on artificial intelligence   • FBX: The billion-dollar Facebook business that never happened   • The €150 million check-kiting scam that bankrupted Leo Burnett in Greece   • My Polaroids of the September 11 attacks led me into America's secret court system for terrorist suspects   • YouTube deleted 130 rap videos to help police fight street gangs responsible for thousands of stabbingsDisclosure: I own shares of Twitter (TWTR).