Terrorism Ruled Out as Motive Behind London Car Incident

VOA News
Last Updated: 7 October 2017 (2:41PM)

London police have ruled out terrorism as the motive behind a car incident Saturday that injured a number of pedestrians near the city's Natural History Museum.

Police had said earlier that they were keeping an open mind about the incident, after initially saying it was not being treated as an act of terrorism.

But in the latest statement, police said "the incident is a road traffic investigation and not a terrorist-related incident."

A man was detained after British media reported a car had veered onto the pavement outside the museum, a popular tourist attraction in the South Kensington area of west London. He has not been charged.

Eleven people were hurt, nine of whom were hospitalized, according to the London Ambulance Service.

Britain is on its second-highest security alert level after five deadly attacks this year, three involving vehicles, including vehicular attacks on pedestrians at Westminster Bridge and London Bridge.