Headline Roundup • October 15th, 2021
Stabbing of British Lawmaker Investigated as Possible Terrorist Attack
Summary from the AllSides News Team
British counterterrorism officers are reportedly leading the investigation into the Friday morning stabbing of David Amess, a Conservative Party member of the U.K. Parliament. Amess was stabbed to death at a meeting with constituents at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, east of London. Police arrested a 25-year-old man at the scene and later released a statement saying they were “not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident and do not believe there is an ongoing threat to the wider public.” Police also said they had not yet determined whether the incident was a terrorist attack, saying, “It will be for investigators to determine whether or not this is a terrorist incident.”
Coverage was widespread and prominently featured across the spectrum on Friday, with most outlets describing Amess as a “Conservative” politician or lawmaker. With notable exceptions like Fox News and The New York Times, most outlets connected the Conservative Party to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Nick Ansell/PA via AP
A British politician was stabbed to death Friday by a man who stormed into a church where the MP was meeting constituents — with police not ruling out terrorism.
David Amess, a lawmaker in British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party, was killed by a man who was arrested as armed police swooped into the church in Essex around midday, officials said.
“He was stabbed several times,” John Lamb, a local councilor at the scene, told Reuters of the 69-year-old member of Parliament.
GETTY IMAGES
Conservative MP Sir David Amess has died after being stabbed multiple times at his constituency surgery in Essex.
Police said a 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder after the attack at a church in Leigh-on-Sea.
They recovered a knife and are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. A counter terrorism team will lead the investigation.
Boris Johnson has spoken of his shock and sadness at the loss of "one of the kindest" people in politics.
Home Secretary Priti Patel has asked all police forces...
Counterterror police are investigating the death of the Conservative MP Sir David Amess, who was stabbed while meeting constituents at a routine public surgery on Friday.
The 69-year-old suffered multiple injuries in the attack at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea.
Essex Police said a 25-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of murder, and that counterterror detectives were investigating his motivations.
The Independent understands that the suspect is a British national of Somali origin, and the killing is being treated at this point as a probable Islamist terror attack.
The investigation is also...
