President Donald Trump on Tuesday again seized on what he called a "terrorist attack" in London to call for tougher anti-terror measures, even though the incident was still in the early stages of investigation.
"Another terrorist attack in London...These animals are crazy and must be dealt with through toughness and strength!," the US President tweeted.
Metropolitan Police in London were investigating the event -- in which a car crashed into security barriers outside of the Houses of Parliament during rush hour Tuesday morning -- as a terrorist incident. The driver, a man in his late 20's, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of terrorist offenses. He was alone in the car and no weapons were recovered at the scene.
Two people were taken to the hospital and one person was treated at the scene of the crash.
Neil Basu, Assistant Commissioner Specialist Operations at the Metropolitan Police, said that the incident "appears to be a deliberate attack" and officers from the Counter Terrorism Command are leading the investigation. Police are working to establish the identity of the suspect and his motivation. He said the suspect was not being cooperative.
In addition to declaring the incident a "terrorist attack" before officials in London, Trump said the perpetrators are "animals." Earlier this year, Trump defended himself for calling some undocumented immigrants "animals," saying he was referring to the gang MS-13. Trump was unapologetic about his language and said he'd use it again.
Trump's response is not the first time the US President has seized on an incident in the UK to call for a hardline response to prevent terrorism. Following an explosion in the London Tube in September 2017, Trump slammed "another attack in London by a loser terrorist" and used the attack to call for the expansion of his travel ban. He made a similar reference to the travel ban in June 2017 in the immediate aftermath of the London Bridge terror attacks.
