On Wednesday, March 22^nd, 2017 Khalid Masood, age 52, plowed a vehicle across Westminster Bridge in London, England, killing five and injuring approximately 50 pedestrians. Masood crashed his vehicle into a fence outside the Parliament, emerged yielding knives, and stabbed a London police officer. Shortly thereafter, the assailant was shot and killed by officers.

Although the Islamic State issued a statement declaring Masood as their own “soldier” on the morning of Thursday, March 23^rd, according to investigators, it is likely that Masood is merely inspired by ISIS, rather than directly related to the terrorist group. The last time something similar happened was the Berlin truck attack last December. Shortly after the attack, ISIS posted a video of the suspect pledging their allegiance to the group. Investigation into this attack is ongoing, with officers working to discover whether Masood acted alone or as part of greater conspiracy.

American traveler Kurt Cochran, British teacher Aysha Frade, 75 year old Leslie Rhodes, and police constable Keith Palmer died of injuries from this attack. Officer Palmer was patrolling the Parliament building when Masood fatally stabbed him, and since then, the Metropolitan Police has announced that they will be retiring Palmer’s shoulder number to honor his sacrifice.

According to the New York Times, this attack was the most serious in London since the deadly subway bombings in 2005. Because of England’s strict gun laws, high-scale terrorist attacks are uncommon. Also, many of those injured in the attack were tourists visiting England’s capital, including three French teenagers, two Romanians, five South Koreans, two Greeks, and an Australian woman. Because of this, the attack has struck a chord with many around the world.

London’s business newspaper City AM headlined the events as “An Attack on Democracy”; the South China Morning Post stated “World Leaders Stand With Britain After London Terror Attack”; and the Chicago Tribune had the event on their front page the next morning.

Twitter was also flooded with condolences to the city of London. President Trump tweeted out “A great American, Kurt Cochran, was killed in the London terror attack. My prayers and condolences are with his family and friends.”

This global unity can be seen every time a disaster such as this occurs. Look back on the Boston Marathon bombing, Paris bombing, and the Pulse shooting, for example. The London attack has greatly impacted the world at large, and will be remembered for a long time to come.