What We Know About the London Underground Terror Attack

By Lindsay Miller
Getty | Chris J. Ratcliffe
Getty | Chris J. Ratcliffe

Update, Sept. 16, 2017, 9:15 a.m. PT: Police arrested an 18-year-old man in Surrey on Saturday, Sept. 16, in connection with the London Underground bombing at Parsons Green. He is expected to be moved to London later and we will continue to share more details as they become available.

Update, Sept. 15, 2017, 12:30 p.m. PT: Following an earlier explosion on the London Underground, the terror threat level in the UK has now reportedly been raised from "severe" to "critical," suggesting authorities are on alert for any further attacks. We will continue to update our story as new information becomes available, but here's what we have learned so far:

  • Authorities now say 29 people have been treated, primarily for "flash burns," in the wake of the terror attack on the London Underground and that none of those injuries are life threatening.
  • ISIS is claiming responsibility for the attack, the BBC reports.
  • President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May spoke by phone on Sept. 15 following her earlier rebuke of his tweets on the attack. The White House said Trump expressed condolences and pledged to "continue close collaboration with the United Kingdom" in thwarting terrorism.
  • Stories of heroism during the pandemonium are bubbling up on social media as Londoners come together in the wake of the violence.

Original post: On the morning of Sept. 15, an explosion occurred on a London Underground train during rush hour, and authorities are treating the incident as a terror attack. Here's what we know so far about the incident:

  • Authorities arrived on the scene 8:20 a.m. London time, or 6:20 a.m PT, and have confirmed to the BBC that 22 people were injured in the blast, which took place at Parsons Green station.
  • No arrests have yet been made. Scotland Yard has made a public appeal asking that witnesses to the attack and its aftermath upload photos and video to their website so they can review them.
  • Prime Minister Theresa May has blasted the attacks as "cowardly" and said they were clearly meant to "cause significant harm."
  • Photos of the device circulating on social media appeared to show a white plastic bucket with wires protruding from it in flames:
  • A source told CNN there was a timer on the bomb, which suggests that whoever planted it hoped to cause major damage.
  • Some witnesses say being caught in the crush of people was the most terrifying part of the attack. "I had fears of actually being crushed underfoot," Sally Faulting told CNN. "I remember thinking 'get up, get up, get up,' because I was stumbling over other people who had fallen."
  • Donald Trump tweeted about the incident, referring to the as-of-now unknown attacker as a "loser terrorist" and seemingly laying some blame on Scotland Yard, claiming they were "in the sights" of the law enforcement agency ahead of the attack. In an interview later that morning, Prime Minister May framed Trump's comments as unhelpful.

This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes available.