British lawmaker David Amess was killed on Friday after being stabbed “multiple times” during an event in his local constituency in southeast England, in the second death of a UK politician while meeting voters since 2016.
According to the Police, a 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder after the attack at a church in Leigh-on-Sea.
They recovered a knife and are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. A counter-terrorism team will lead the investigation.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps called Amess “a dedicated, thoughtful man and a true Parliamentarian, who lost his life while serving the constituents who he worked relentlessly for throughout his career”.
Amess is the latest British MPs to have been attacked at his weekly constituency “surgery” with voters, which are typically held on Fridays when parliament is not sitting.
Amess, a lawmaker since 1983, had advertised his upcoming surgery at the Belfairs Methodist Church in the small town of Leigh-on-Sea.
Paul Gardiner, 41, a barber at One Barbers Leigh-On-Sea, told AFP that “armed police and an ambulance” were on the scene.
“There’s a couple of choppers around the place,” he said.
There was no immediate comment from Johnson, who was leading an away-day for senior ministers in the west of England.
But his wife Carrie, a former Conservative head of communications, tweeted: “Absolutely devastating news about Sir David Amess.
“He was hugely kind and good. An enormous animal lover and a true gent. This is so completely unjust. Thoughts are with his wife and their children.”
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