Police: Car that hit pedestrians near London museum not terror-related incident

LONDON — London police said that a car struck pedestrians Saturday morning near the city's Natural History Museum, Reuters reported.

Police said that an incident in which pedestrians were struck by a car near London's Natural History Museum Saturday afternoon is not terror-related. Police called the matter a "road traffic collision."

A man was detained at the scene, police said. Earlier, authorities had said a man was arrested, CNN reported.

London Ambulance Service said 11 people were treated for injuries.

Police described the incident in the South Kensington area of London as a collision and said the motive for the incident was under investigation, Reuters reported.

A spokesman said: "It is not being treated as a terrorist incident at this stage while we establish what has happened."

Pictures and footage shared on social media showed street damage and a large police presence in the capital's museum district, The Guardian reported. The district is home to the NHM, the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The museum is in the busy South Kensington section of London, popular with both Londoners and tourists. The area was cordoned off by heavily armed police, according to video posted on social media. Helicopters buzzed overhead as ambulances rushed to the scene.

A witness said a nearby Tube station was closed.

Nevertheless, the collision raised concerns after several attacks this year in the London area involving vehicles ramming pedestrians.

In June, three men drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before going on a stabbing rampage at bars at nearby Borough Market. The attack killed eight people and injured more than 40 others, CNN reported. The attackers were fatally shot by police.

In late June, a van hit pedestrians near a north London mosque, killing one man and injuring 11 people. The driver, Darren Osborne, 47, a resident of Cardiff, Wales, was arrested at the scene, CNN reported.

In March, a man drove into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing four people, CNN reported.The suspect, identified as a 52-year-old British man named Khalid Masood, also stabbed an unarmed police officer.

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