U.K. Parliament in lockdown after reports of gunfire

The United Kingdom police are investigating a “terrorist incident” outside the British Parliament in London. The alleged assailant has been shot, according to a government official.

There are four dead and at least 20 injured following the deadly attack, according to London’s Metropolitan Police, who received calls of an incident near Westminster Bridge around 2:40 p.m.

At least a dozen people were reportedly injured on the Westminster Bridge after an assailant drove erratically across the central London bridge, hitting several pedestrians, the Daily Mail reported.

“The alleged assailant was shot by police,” David Lidington, leader of the Commons, told the members of Parliament, adding that a police officer was stabbed and medical authorities are attending to those hurt by the incident, according to the Guardian.

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After driving the vehicle across the bridge and running into a fence along parliament, a knife-wielding introducer, described by eyewitnesses as “middle-aged and Asian,” was able to break through the barrier and enter the grounds of the Houses of Parliament.

It should be noted, however, that officials do not know if the driver and the knife attacker are the same individual.

“We were taking photos of Big Ben and we saw all the people running towards us, and then there was an Asian guy in about his 40s carrying a knife about seven or eight inches,” witness Jayne Wilkinson told the Daily Mail. “And then there were three shots fired, and then we crossed the road and looked over.”

“The man was on the floor with blood,” he added.

Sources have said Prime Minister Theresa May is safe.

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Sky News reported that counterterrorism police are conducting a room-by-room sweep in parliament to ensure the area is secure.

Scotland Yard said the attack, which comes one year after the deadly assault in Brussels, is being treated “as a terrorist incident until we know otherwise.”

The London Underground station of Westminster has been closed because of the incident, Transport for London said.

This is a breaking news story and it has been updated.