A British member of Parliament is in critical condition after an attack in her constituency in northern England on Thursday, British police said, with media reports suggesting she had been shot and stabbed.
Jo Cox, 41, who’s with the opposition Labour Party, was attacked as she prepared to hold a meeting for constituents in Birstall near Leeds.
West Yorkshire Police said a 52-year-old man was arrested by armed police and a woman in her 40s had suffered serious injuries.
A man in his late 40s to early 50s who was nearby also suffered slight injuries, police said.
BBC radio reported that Cox was taken by air ambulance to a nearby hospital.
Politicians including Prime Minister David Cameron and newly elected London Mayor Sadiq Khan expressed shock and sympathy on Twitter.
Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn said he was “utterly shocked by the news.”
“The thoughts of the whole Labour Party are with her and her family at this time,” he said.
Very concerned about reports Jo Cox has been injured. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jo and her family.
Shocked to hear terrible news about brilliant MP and friend Jo Cox. Thinking of her and praying for her and family.
Bleeding on the floor
One eyewitness told the Press Association that Cox had intervened in a scuffle between two men. One of them had pulled a gun from a bag and it was fired twice.
“She fell between two cars and I came and saw her bleeding on the floor,” said Hithem Ben Abdallah.
Emergency services arrived and tended to her after about 15 minutes, he said.
Eyewitness and local café owner Clarke Rothwell described the scene to the BBC.
“I looked round, there’s a man stood there in his 50s with a white baseball cap on and a jacket with a gun — an old-fashioned looking gun in his hand — and he shot this lady once and then he shot her again,” Rothwell said.
Cox fell to the floor, and the gunman leaned over and “shot her once more in the face area,” Rothwell said.
Northern-born Cox was a Cambridge University graduate and aid worker before becoming Labour lawmaker for Batley and Spen in 2015. Known for her work on women’s issues, Cox has worked with several charities.
Campaigns suspended
She has made finding a solution to the Syrian civil war a top priority and has been critical of Britain’s reluctance to deepen its military involvement against the extremist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria as part of that effort.
In recent weeks, she has been campaigning for Britain to remain in the European Union ahead of the country’s June 23 referendum, and last week published an op-ed in the Yorkshire Post, in which she said leaving the EU is no answer to the “real concerns” surrounding the country’s immigration policy.
British lawmakers are currently not in parliament ahead of next week’s referendum on whether Britain should remain in the European Union.
Groups on both sides of the referendum have suspended their campaigns following the attack.
Police and stand behind a cordon in Birstall, U.K. following an attack on local MP Jo Cox, who is a lawmaker for the opposition Labour Party. (Craig Brough/Reuters)