LONDON - British police named the man who killed three people near parliament before being shot dead as Khalid Masood, saying he had a string of criminal convictions but none for terrorism-related offences.
Masood, 52, was born in Kent to the southeast of London and had been most recently living in central England, London police said. Known by a number of other aliases, he had not been convicted previously for any terrorism offences, they added.
"Masood was not the subject of any current investigations and there was no prior intelligence about his intent to mount a terrorist attack," they said in a statement.
"However, he was known to police and has a range of previous convictions for assaults, including GBH (grievous bodily harm), possession of offensive weapons and public order offences."
British security services once investigated Masood, author of the worst terrorism in London in more than a decade, Prime Minister Theresa May said as Parliament resumed its work.
The UK-born attacker was on the intelligence agency MI5's radar amid concern over his links to extremism some years ago, she said. Police said Masood had previous convictions for violence and possession of weapons but Ms May told lawmakers he "was not part of the current intelligence picture" and the authorities had no prior intelligence about this suspected Islamist plot.
Police said his first conviction was in November 1983 for criminal damage and his last was in December 2003 for possession of a knife.
He had not been convicted of any terrorism offences.
The link to central England tied in with the news that the car used in the attack had been hired from rental company Enterprise's Spring Hill branch in Birmingham.
Prime Minister May added Masood was a "peripheral figure" who had likely been radicalised by Islamist ideology.
She also said it would be wrong to describe the attack as "Islamic" extremism.
"It is Islamist terrorism," she said. "It is a perversion of a great faith."
British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks outside 10 Downing Street: 'We are not afraid and our resolve will never waver in the face of terrorism' (Pool photo via AP)
The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the attack near Britain's Parliament on Wednesday and said Masood was a "solider of the Caliphate." That claim could not be verified.
Authorities refer to self radicalised jihadists as "lone wolf" terrorist, and the IS encourages attacks such as Masood's, even providing instructions and suggestions in its online publications, many in English.
Masood slammed a car into pedestrians on a bridge in central London and then fatally stabbed a police officer. He was shot dead by police.
Masood ploughed an SUV into pedestrians on a crowded London bridge and then stabbed a police officer to death on the grounds of Britain’s parliament.
One of the three persons killed was an American tourist. US President Donald Trump tweeted: "A great American, Kurt Cochran, was killed in the London terror attack. My prayers and condolences are with his family and friends."
Those killed were
- PC (police constable) Keith Palmer, an unarmed member of the parliamentary and diplomatic protection squad, stabbed to death by Khalid
- Aysha Frade, who worked at London's DLD College, whose principal said she was "highly regarded and loved by our students and by her colleagues"
- US tourist Kurt Cochran of Utah state, visiting London to celebrate his 25th wedding anniversary with his wife Melissa, who is in hospital with serious injuries.
Earlier, Mr Trump said that he had spoken to the British prime minister to offer condolences. He said she was "strong and doing very well".
The IS said through its Amaq news agency that the attacker was a soldier of the IS who “carried out the operation in response to calls for targeting citizens of the coalition” of countries fighting the IS in Syria and Iraq.
In addition to the police officer and the attacker, who was shot by police, two people died on Westminster Bridge and at least 29 others were injured, seven critically.
Eight people were arrested overnight after police raided six addresses in Birmingham and London, Ms May said. The focus is likely to turn to whether anything could have been done to prevent the attack.
The attack took place on the first anniversary of terrorist attacks in Brussels.