During one horrific 8-minute period on June 3, 2017, eight people were killed as a band of terrorists drove a van through a pedestrian walkway on the London Bridge. The men then exited, armed with pink steak knives, and proceeded to slash and stab people in a nearby market.
The attack was the third to take place in London in 2017.
Just minutes before 10 pm a van filled with three attackers inconspicuously crossed the London Bridge twice. When it reached the end of the bridge the second time, the van made a U-turn, mounting the pavement and mowing down pedestrians.
At the end of the bridge, the terrorists crashed into a nearby pub, where they exited with knives taped to their wrists and fake bombs strapped to their bodies. The men ran from the vehicle, slashing and stabbing through the Borough Market as they screamed “This is for Allah.” They randomly entered bars and restaurants, stabbing whoever came into their path. People tried to fight them off, throwing crates, chairs and glasses, but in the end, 48 people were injured.
By 10:15 all three terrorists had been killed by authorities.
The terrorists were found to be Khuram Shazad Butt, 27, a British citizen born in Pakistan who is believed to have been the leader of the attack; Rachid Redouane, 30, who said he was Moroccan and Libyan; and Youssef Zaghba, 22, a Moroccan-Italian man. The men are reported to have had large amounts of steroids in their system.
2017 was one of the most intense periods for terrorist attacks in England. Arrests for terrorism-linked offenses rose to a record 379 in the 12 months leading up to the attacks, an increase of 67% from the year before.
