London’s Metropolitan Police named the man responsible for Wednesday’s Westminster terror attack as British born Khalid Masood.
In a press release from Scotland Yard Thursday afternoon approximately 25 hours after the attack took place, the force revealed 52-year-old Khalid Masood, born in Kent but lately a resident of the West Midlands was responsible for Wednesday’s deadly attack that killed three, including a British-Spanish woman, an American tourist, and a police officer.
Police raided a flat in Winson Green overnight Wednesday, where Masood is believed to have lived. The Birmingham Mail reports he had been an English teacher before the attack.
Revealing that the killer wasn’t being monitored for terror reasons but had previously been convicted of criminal offences, Scotland Yard said: “Masood was not the subject of any current investigations and there was no prior intelligence about his intent to mount a terrorist attack.
“However, he was known to police and has a range of previous convictions for assaults, including GBH, possession of offensive weapons and public order offences.
“His first conviction was in November 1983 for criminal damage and his last conviction was in December 2003 for possession of a knife.
“He has not been convicted for any terrorism offences”.
The statement comes hours after British Prime Minister Theresa May said the killer, at that stage unidentified, had been investigated by domestic intelligence agency MI5 in the past. Mrs May said Masood was a “peripheral” figure, announcing that he “was not part of the current intelligence picture. There was no prior intelligence of his intent or of the plot.”
Eight people have been arrested by anti-terror police in relation to the attack.
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