Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Police Arrest 12 In London Terror Attack That Killed 7; After U.K Attack, Ariana Grande Concert Goes On; Trump Slams London Mayor Over Attack Remarks; NYC Mayor: Expect "Strong Police Presence" After U.K. Attack

Aired June 04, 2017 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:00:02] MICHAEL ZELDIN, ATTORNEY: But we saw that when Obama tried to do that.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michael, I'm sorry, but we've just run out of time and we've got so much else to cover with London as well. Michael Zeldin, I'm sure you're going to be back.

ZELDIN: OK. I'm sorry.

SAVIDGE: Thank you very much.

ZELDIN: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: And we'll have more on our breaking news. And it all starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Terror in London.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It has hallmarks of some attacks. We've seen a van containing three assailants mow down a bunch of people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was on London Bridge. What I saw was a van coming across London Bridge at high speed swerving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were the three men standing there. One of which the machete and this one girl start saying that they're stopping everyone, that they're stopping people.

THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We believe we are experiencing a new trend in the threat we face as terrorism breeds terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: A terrorist rampage through London. Hello, I'm Martin Savidge in Atlanta. This is our special coverage. Clarissa Ward is in London. She'll join me momentarily. We want to welcome our viewers in the U.S. and around the world.

We are following new developments in the investigation into London's deadly terror attack. ITN is reporting this video. And they say it comes from an eyewitness who says that these are the three attackers rooming through Borough Market at the launching stabbings spree last night.

In this image shows the white van that the mask man first used to run the sidewalk of the iconic London Bridge, intentionally running down pedestrians. Seven people are dead, 48 injured. Those three attackers were quickly shot and killed by police. 12 additional people have been arrested.

It is the second terror attack in the U.K. in just 12 days. And although there are no initial indications they are connected, British Prime Minister Theresa May says that they were carried out because of "evil ideology of Islamist extremism." But, Brits are vowing to not live in fear.

A benefit concert for the victims of last month's attack in neighboring Manchester is not going to be canceled and it definitely will not be silenced.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We have a team of reporters covering all angles of the story. We're here now in London's Borough Market just behind me. This was the scene of mayhem last night. And I'm joined now by our CNN Senior National Correspondent Alex Marquardt.

Alex, tell me what are you learning about the investigation?

ALEXANDER MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Clarissa, police are saying they're making significant progress in identifying these three attackers. They are confident that these three men are the only people who were involved in the attack. And that's an important point because they're essentially saying they don't believe any more elements involved in this attacker out there. That's why they are maintaining the terror alert level at the second highest severe.

In the meantime, they are carrying out raids here in London or eastern part of the city in a place called Barking. They have arrested 12 people possibly connected with these attackers. Just a short time ago, the assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police spoke with reporters. Here's what he have to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASSISTANT COMMISIONER MARK ROWLEY, METROPOLITAN POLICE: We have established that the venue during the attack was a white rental van that was recently hired by one of the attackers. As our understanding grows, we now understand that the van at London Bridge started the attack at 21:58 hours yesterday. They went from north to south on the river with members of the public calling police a few minutes later.

The van maintained the pavements and collided with pedestrians before being abandoned where attackers were armed with knives continued into the Borough Market area stabbing numerous people. The attackers were then confronted by the firearms officers and I confirm that eight police firearms officers discharged their weapons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: Now, keep in mind here in the U.K most police officers don't carry firearms. They fired 50 rounds into those attackers. What the police -- the assistant commissioner there called an unprecedented amount of fire powder.

The reason they fired that much -- that many rounds at the attackers is because they believed that they were wearing suicide vests. As it turned out, they were wearing fake suicide vests. And in that exchange of gunfire, one person from the public member was wounded. The death toll stands at seven. There are some 48 people who are wounded, 21 of whom critically wounded so that death toll still could rise.

WARD: All right. Alex Marquardt, thank you. And, of course, we'll be checking in with some of the wounded later on.

But for right now, let's bring in CNN's International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson. Nic, police have conducted several raids today. Tell us what are they looking for and how many people have they taken into custody?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah. I think it's quite telling, you know, there are several things that are going on here. Of course, the police are asking media organizations if they have video that shows the faces of the attackers to pixelate the faces.

[15:05:06] And they're doing this because they don't want to provide any additional information about the people behind the attack because they want to be able to get on and arrest as many people that maybe associated with these men as possible. And they don't want to, you know, they don't want to give an opportunity for any of those who might have been involved to escape. The police have arrested 12 people in Barking in the east of London.

There is a very big and strong and vibrant Muslim community in the east of London. But it is telling that the police have made their first arrest there, which perhaps gives us the best indication that we have so far of maybe where these three attackers came from. Of course, we can't say that -- we can't say that with a surety. The Westminster Bridge attacker, of course, came from outside of London. He had lived most recently in Birmingham.

But in this particular case, these arrests do seem to indicate that perhaps these three attackers did come from London. But the police are not providing any information about that, which is quite normal.

I've spoken with a local imam who came here today and I was asking him, specifically, about what Theresa May have said that there is -- in our communities she said she laid out her four ways to tackle this change in the terror threat in Britain. She had said that there was too much tolerance of extremism in the communities here. And the imam I spoke to said, "Look, you cannot continue to blame and point the finger at Muslim communities here". Because he said, "As an imam, we have been talking about this for years. We are trying to stop this. We're doing our best in our communities. This is about everyone trying to work together".

And interestingly, he like the prime minister pointed the finger of blame at recruitment, not on mosques, but on the internet on the way that ISIS and other groups recruit on the internet. So, of course, perhaps the use of the internet by these three men may -- excuse me, also provide the police with the clues that they need to continue this investigation. 12 arrests so far, Clarissa, we can expect more.

WARD: And, Nic, I'm just curious, because there seem to be every indication that the network was not larger than the three men, the attackers themselves who were shot. And yet we've seen 12 arrests. And yet there have been raids. Who are these 12 arrests if they're not connected to a potential network?

ROBERTSON: Yeah. I guess it's quite easy for our viewers to imagine that if -- when the police make arrests like this, then this is an indication that these 12 people will be connected in a participatory or at least a negative way.

And what we witnessed here -- I mean, if we look back to that Westminster attack, the police arrested close to a dozen people, mostly in the Birmingham area, some in other parts of the country. And within a week, within a week and a half they had released all but one of them.

What the police seem to do, again, with the Birmingham, if I just compare with the Westminster arrest, the arrests that came immediately, the soonest arrest, the quickest arrest after the incident were the people -- excuse me, again, were the people that lived -- had lived most recently with the attackers.

So, is that the case here that the police have gone to the addresses where these men lived and simply arrested to question to get a better background, a better understanding of the people most recently or most closely associated with the men? So this is possibly what's happening. We don't know.

The police, of course, at this stage in their investigation are keeping the details and their reasoning and rational and the results as well, of course, keeping that very much to themselves. But it's quite possible. We'll see many of those who have been arrested already today released. But I think that's why we can expect more arrests as the police dig deeper into their lives.

And that circle of associates and contact gets bigger because the police want to know who they were speaking to, who might have influenced them. Is there somebody else out there in the community that influenced these three men a month ago, two months ago, three months ago, five months ago that is -- that has been influencing other young people? And who are those other young people that may be influenced? And they need to get to them. They need to know who they are. That's the urgency of the situation here right now. These men may have acted alone, but their associates may -- may be inspiring others.

WARD: All right. Nic Robertson, thank you so much as always. Martin, back to you in New York.

SAVIDGE: Last night's attack makes nine terror incidents in Europe since 2015. To talk about all of that, we have our panel. Will Geddes is the Managing Director at the International Corporate Protection Group. Michael Allen is the former Majority Staff Director of the House Intel Committee. And CNN Global Affairs Analyst David Rohde is Online News Director for the New Yorker.

[15:10:09] Will, let me start with you. What more can governments do to try to prevent this kind of attacks? We have seen them. We've seen attempt to try to block them and they still keep happening.

WILL GEDDES, MANAGING DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE PROTECTION: Yes. So I think -- and, again, it is to a certain degree relative. And I think we have to be quite pragmatic to a certain degree also about the number of attacks that actually do materialize and haven't been followed and reported by the various government's intelligence agencies or authorities and counterterrorism capabilities.

You know, there is a lot of catching up that needs to be done since some very significant attacks across Europe and across the United Kingdoms. 7/7 was very much our wake up call. For France it was Charlie Hebdo. And there are number of other locations, including Germany, certainly with the Berlin Christmas Market.

So, there's a lot of catching up that needs to be done. But, we're really the best efforts I would say most productively focused would be in assessing and analyzing the life cycle of the terrorist a great deal more. And one of those key elements is also the point of not only recruitment, but radicalization and how that can be delivered in its various different forms.

And where we may ask society have to relinquish certain degrees of privacy to those agencies because it is becoming an instrumental task. We need to be able to afford the ability to be able to mask surveillance, particularly those individuals that wishes home.

SAVIDGE: Let me broaden this conversation. David, British Prime Minister Theresa May today, by the way, vowed to crackdown on the extremism that's fueling the terror attacks. You would expect her to say this, but the question is how does she really do that?

DAVID ROHDE, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: That's the problem. How do you define, you know, extremism in a legal sense that will allow British authorities to arrest someone before they carry out these attacks and not violate civil liberties? It's a real challenge.

I agree actually with Will. One area where there could be progress wasn't --there's really no consensus on somehow striking a balance between some surveillance in terms of what technology companies are allowing the government to do and what the public will accept. There were some talks about this under the Obama administration, but there really wasn't much head way on it. And it's evolved in a very extreme situation where the private sector says, you know, no surveillance, whatsoever. There has to be, you know, total and open encryption and not -- government is overseeing its case sometimes. So, that -- a consensus on that some kind of agreement where you sacrifice some privacy in exchange for increase and safety needs to be broker.

SAVIDGE: Yeah. It was almost as if both sides dug their heels in.

Michael, do you fear that there are risks for Americans, both here in our own country, but also traveling abroad given what you've seen now?

MICHAEL ALLEN, FORMER MAJORITY STAFF DIRECTOR, HOUSE INTEL COMMITTEE: Yeah, I do fear for that. I hear in the United States, look, we don't have problem that they have in Western Europe because of their physical proximity to the Middle East and perhaps ISIS itself.

SAVIDGE: Yeah. We say that, but we also know that this could come over the internet. It isn't like a physical form of a person that came from Syria and then plots in Great Britain.

ALLEN: I was just going --

SAVIDGE: It's comes from a wire.

ALLEN: I was just going to say the same thing. Orlando and San Bernardino, we are not immune. People can get radicalized via online. In fact, look, I think we're coming for a reckoning here with technology and the needs of governments to go after terrorists.

David just talked about the encryption debate, presumably in many of these cases over the last few years in Europe. The confederates and terrorists have spoken via into and encrypted applications on their smart phones. Governments want access to that.

And I think the most striking thing, at least I learned from Prime Minister May's speech this morning, was that she really likened the internet safe zones to what were traditionally talking about in counterterrorism, which is physical safe zones like Afghanistan or Syria for which we take military action. So, these sorts of technology and law enforcement issues I think are going to have to come to ahead here in the not too distant future.

SAVADGE: Yeah. Will, that's, you know, that's really a very fascinating point that's being made there. I'm wondering, you know, we see the small scale attacks. We see the one using a vehicle, using knives. This is something that both al-Qaeda and ISIS have been pushing for years and they're doing it over the internet. The message is still getting through and clearly people are acting on it.

GEDDES: Yeah, they're absolutely. And there, you know, there is some legislation which they're coming to effect in continental Europe, particularly Germany is a good example where there are fines which are levied against ISPs that are allowing criminal content to remain online for more than 24 hours. And somebody is trying to going up to 50 million Euros.

[15:15:05] Now, I think universally we need to employ the same techniques. Now, inevitably, the terrorists ask the criminal would -- they'll try and find ways to circumvent it. Whether that be through secret messaging absolutely like.

But it's this widespread propagation of their message and methodologies to try an insight, which we encourage those carry out these attacks. Again, the more that we can filter them into certain corners, the easier it will be come back.

SAVIDGE: David, you know, as we talked, one of the fears had always been that you had these people who went to fight in Syria. They got the training and then they come home.

Now we see that's not necessarily the case. ISIS would say, "Hey, don't come to Syria, stay where you are and launch attacks." We saw that in France. It appears we may see that in Great Britain. We could easily see that here. That is a very frightening thing when it comes to trying to stop it or know about it.

ROHDE: Yeah. We learned that it has occurred in the United States. There was the incident in Ohio where a young man rammed the crowd, didn't kill anyone. And what's really disturbing about the three attacks now in Britain is that the middle attack that happened in Manchester that "New York Times" reported yesterday that Salman Abedi, the bomber, actually traveled to Libya and met with the Islamic State back in there and he was able, you know, to divide the very powerful and deadly bomb.

So -- and then you have this in the first attack started of the three which was, you know, a home grown case. This is where the gentleman, you know, rammed his car into people near parliament in London. You have both attack, you know, that very concerning. And as, you know, there is progress and the Islamic State is losing territory rapidly.

The final stages that where you taking Mosul (ph) is occurring, but they do seem to be sort of dispersing their fighters to places like Libya and, you know, or even sending them back in the Europe. You know, we don't know anything about these three men. So there is progress, you know, that they -- I think, as they lose territory, they'll become less effective, but it's going to be a very difficult transition period.

SAVIDGE: Yeah. It almost seems that they become more desperate as they become more confronted by conventional forces. Will Geddes, David Rohde, and Michael Allen, thank you all for joining us this morning.

The London rampage is not stopping the United Kingdom and Ariana Grande's "One Love" benefit concert that is moving forward as planned. CNN's Phil Black is there. Ariana Grande just took the stage. Phil, it must be a remarkable sight and sound.

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Martin, an extraordinary atmosphere here in Manchester as some of the biggest pop stars in the world and 50,000 people are in the space behind me singing, dancing, making a defiant gesture against the terror attacks in London and Manchester two weeks ago. We'll have more from here just after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:22:03] WARD: Welcome back. I'm Clarissa Ward, in London. Ariana Grande just took to the stage at the "One Love Concert" in Manchester, England. It is an all-star concert for the victims of a suicide bombing in that city less than two weeks ago, 22 people were killed.

The performers refused to be silenced by the latest act of terror here in the U.K. Despite yesterday's attack in London, the show goes on right now with heightened security though, of course.

And now we're hoping to have joining us CNN International Correspondent Phil Block who is there at the concert. Phil, the crowds are just staggering. Tell me what is the mood of the crowd?

BLACK: Staggering, they were loud. I thought they were loud and then Ariana Grande came on stage. We're going to pan the camera and show you a little of what we could see at the moment.

Ariana Grande is on stage right now. She just finished a huge rendition with the Black Eyed Peas. And if there in no miss-hit "Where is the Love?" If there was a roof it would have came off. It was really so extraordinary to see.

This crowd is enjoying this so much. The atmosphere, it is warm, it is loud, they are singing, they are dancing as one. As I said, it is just an absolutely extraordinary event to witness, really.

And from the atmosphere, the mood here, you could not really think that this is a community, a city that was torn apart by terrorism just two weeks ago. And remember, a good part of this crowd were actually at Ariana Grande's concert in the Manchester Arena two weeks ago just before that terror attack. Many of them ran for fears as they heard the explosion that took place outside.

Today, this is a gesture that says we're not going to be -- we're not going to take any of that too seriously. We're not going to worry about that. These people, some 50,000 of them, have been waiting outside for hours.

They've come here under very strict security. They've all been searched individually. They haven't allowed this to ruin their mood in any way, shape, or form. And they are having a truly phenomenal time.

Ariana Grande hasn't done much talking. It's all been about the singing. She hasn't explained why she thought it was important to come back. She left that to her manager who came on the stage and said that Ariana had called him after the terror attack and said that if we don't do anything, I don't think I could live with myself. And so, this is the result. This extraordinary event pulled together at very short notice. One that the organizers say was initially all about the attack in Manchester, but now it means so much more after last night's attack in London as well. Clarissa, back to you.

WARD: And, Phil, I mean an extraordinary event and also an extraordinary responsibility, though, for security services. Give us a sense of the, you know, the protocol or procedures that they're taking to make sure that this all goes off safely.

[15:25:06] BLACK: Indeed. That is one that the Manchester police seem to have embraced wholeheartedly. They are in full support. There's the ones that have provided all the security in the streets surrounding this area while also maintaining a very heightened level of security and visibility across Manchester as a whole. Across this city, so many things appear to have gone back to normal. But for the security presence, the police presence, you still see it everywhere.

Today, they have help make this happen. They acknowledged that it was something of a controversial decision to do this so soon, but not all the victims of the attack supported the idea. For some it was just too soon to come together in this way. But the majority of the victims are said to have supported it.

And so, the decision was made to proceed. The crowd and the community has gotten behind it entirely. And so, that's why you've seen this huge gathering of people come together and what can only really be described as a truly joyous event so soon after such a terrible period of suffering and trauma for the people of this city, Clarissa?

WARD: Phil Black, just awesome to see those crowds in Manchester. Thank you so much.

Well, still to come, Donald Trump sparking a backlash among U.K. leaders after criticizing London's mayor in the aftermath of the terror attacks. What he said and how they're responding, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:35] SAVIDGE: President Trump's response to the London attack is played out in real time on Twitter. Moments after the news of that incident broke, the president reiterated his desire for a travel ban saying the U.S. needs it for "an extra level of safety." Now, he followed that up by pledging U.S. support for the United Kingdom in the days ahead.

But this morning, the president slammed London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, for saying that citizens should not be alarmed despite the number killed and wounded. We should note the president's tweet does not address the full content of Mayor Khan's remarks which were that Londoners should not be alarmed due to the increased in police around their city because they were necessary to maintain safety.

Here to discuss all of this, Brian Stelter, CNN Senior Media Correspondent, and Julian Zelizer, he is a CNN Political Analyst and Princeton Historian and Professor. Brian, let me start with you. Twitter seems to be, of course, the president's preferred method of communication. It's direct.

But, does it pose a problem, especially, when in this case after a terrorist attack, his first remark about that attack is to sort of confirm a political act? He wants the courts to act in his favor on a travel ban.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Indeed. It begs a question and it begs a really disturbing question which is what would President Trump say in the event of a serious terrorist attack on U.S. soil?

We have seen him respond to attacks in Britain and other countries. What would he say or what will he say, god forbid, on the day that something like that happens in the United States because he does seem to be sowing people's fears and reiterating and then trying to tap into people's fears on what they're seeing on television from London.

And by the way, you know, what's interesting about this, Martin, is we have not seen an official White House statement. There's not been, you know, the normal two or three paragraph condemnation of the terrorist attack that, you know, past White Houses would put out, whether that's Bush or Obama or presidents before them.

So these tweets, in effect, are the only information we've received from the White House about what the president's thinking, what he's feeling. You know, we say their tweets because they're just posted on Twitter. There they all are, 140 characters at a time, but they are the official response of the White House so far in the 21 hours since the attack.

SAVIDGE: Right, I would -- I think you're safe to say that.

Julian, there have been sharp backlashes from several U.K. leaders to Trump's criticism, one labor party member calling it "cheap, nasty and unbecoming of a national leader." Another labor politician said that Trump's state visit should be canceled. How is this going to strain relationships with Great Britain?

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, Great Britain is looking for support in a moment like this. They're looking for the United States to offer assurances that we will do whatever is necessary to prevent these kinds of attacks.

I think everyone's taken a back that the president's first instinct, in addition to pushing his executive order here in the United States, is to go after the mayor and to go after the mayor of London out of context.

So, these are exactly the kinds of statements and the kinds of actions by the president that have been doing an enormous amount of damage and strain in relations with some of our longest allies in Europe. And I think it's a problem.

SAVIDGE: Yeah. It may play, of course, with his base but that's a very narrow subject when we're talking about an international incident.

Brian, Trump's jab at the mayor, Mayor Khan of London, they've had some back and forth before. And I want to ask you this, when it comes to acting as the president seems to be doing against the mayor, this is a time when you would have expected that second tweet, "We're behind you, Britain." Instead, you get this back and forth and people are going, "What is going on?"

STELTER: Yeah. It was one of those expressing solidarity with Britain last night. Then this morning, maybe he was watching Fox, maybe something happened. He seemed to be provoked to share more political tweets.

You know, we know the president picks targets and likes to punch and punch back especially. Maybe he thinks he's in a long running feud with the mayor of London. They have had words exchanged before.

You know, it was clearly out of context, though, when you see that quote on screen, "no reason to be alarmed." What the mayor was saying was you're going to see more security on the streets of London. There is no reason to be alarmed about that.

SAVIDGE: Right.

STELTER: It's the same thing de Blasio said here in New York. It's the same thing we hear from the mayors of Washington or Atlanta or other major cities when security is stepped up, nothing unusual from the mayor of London. What is unusual is the president tweeting this way.

But, if Kellyanne Conway were here, she would say, "It's presidential because it's the president saying it." And a lot of folks are on there and say this is unpresidential but --

[15:35:05] SAVIDGE: Well, Brian, let me just stop you because I want to bring in Julian for a last say.

STELTER: Yeah.

SAVIDGE: Julian, at best, the president misunderstood the mayor. At worst, he's actually misstating his message.

ZELIZER: Right. Look, he often takes bits and pieces of what people say and uses the bits and pieces he wants to send out a message. The irony is the mayor's point is that we can't undercut our Democratic institutions and values because of the fears that these kinds of terrorist attacks generate. And we can't play just to the fears, we also have to play to the best that all of our cities and suburbs and rural areas have to offer.

So, in some ways, President Trump is doing exactly what the mayor of London is trying to stop him from doing. And we don't know if he's taking pieces of what he said and purposely twisting them out of context or doing it by accident, but in some ways it doesn't matter. What matters is what comes out of this presidential tweet and what people read. SAVIDGE: Right. Julian Zelizer and Brian Stelter, as always, thank you very much.

STELTER: Thanks.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: Still to come, startling new images of the moments after the London terror attacks as first responders pitch in to help those who were wounded.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:40:39] WARD,: I'm Clarissa Ward in London where we are learning more about the terror attack that left seven dead and 48 wounded. Here's a look at the white van used on the attack on London Bridge last night. At least one pedestrian is thought to have jumped into the river, attempts to escape being hit. This is dashcam video taken after that van rammed its way along the bridge mowing down pedestrians in its wake and leaving London in shock.

And this is new video just in to CNN. It shows the chaos in London as the city was held in the grip of yet another terror attack, the third one in three months.

We have team coverage here. CNN International Correspondent Melissa Bell is following the investigation and CNN Saima Mohsin is tracking the status of those wounded in the attack.

Melissa, first to you. Tell us where you are and what's the latest that you're hearing from in the investigation?

MELLISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, just behind me, Clarissa, one of the apartment blocks that was raided first thing this morning here in the east of London embarking. It's still cordoned off. And for more than 12 hours now, police have been going through it with a fine tooth comb.

We've heard from local the fact that there were serious of alleged (inaudible) this morning, but as the police themselves here as a remaining remarkably tight lipped 24 hours nearly off to this attack about how far the investigation has gone and precisely what it's managed to uncover. For instance, we haven't had confirmation of the identity of any of those attackers yet.

But what we are hearing from locals who recognized, they say one of the men in the photograph that have now been widely circulated from the aftermath of the attack on London Bridge in the British press that they recognize their neighbor. The man that they say lived here with his wife and at least one child. A man that they say, say had had no suspicions about and had no reason to suspect at all.

Now, they have shown us to the Mosque where they say he's prayed. That Mosque has just put a statement neither confirming nor denying the fact that any of these men prayed there, but extending their condolences to the families that have been so tragically hurt by last night's attack, Clarissa.

WARD: OK. Melissa Bell, outside the apartment there where one of those raids took place.

Now, we would like to talk to Saima Mohsin who has the latest on the victim's. Saima, Britain prime minister paid a visit to one of the hospitals this afternoon. What can you tell us about it?

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Clarissa. Hello from Kings College Hospital in London where Theresa May did pay that visit in private to the victims and some of their families that were alongside them. We weren't told that she was here to visit, perhaps that was because of the high levels of security right across London. But we did see increased police activity around the time of the visit.

And I just want to point out to you that there are still police stationed outside this hospital, outside right around the perimeter, and this is accidents and emergency. Just behind me, there have been police vans, up to five police vans at one time here as well.

Now, 14 of the 48 injured people that were brought to hospitals last night were brought here to Kings College Hospital. One of them has been discharged. And another one is a man called Daniel O'Neill. He's 23 years old. And a short while ago, we managed to speak to his mother who spoke with extraordinary emotion and composure really Clarissa. She told us exactly what unfolded.

Now, she told us that he just stepped outside a bar in Borough Market. He was making a call to his brother who was due to meet him when a man came running up to him. Now, of course, we know this is one of those terrorist attackers and took a knife out and said, "I am doing this for my family. I am doing this in the name of Islam." And he stabbed him. That's how the mother showed us. And he stabbed him in the stomach and he had a 7-inch wound. He's now under treatment here.

Daniel was then taken inside that bar where police told everyone to lay flat on the ground. Luckily, one of his friends knew how to tie a tourniquet, which basically stops the blood flow. And then they were able to leave, more stories of heroism. Two police officers lay him flat on their lap and they both pressed down on his wound and kept him going until they brought him here to the hospital. This is what his mother had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:45:12] ELISABETH O'NEILL, SON WAS STABBED IN LONDON TERROR ATTACK: He was in shocked and he said I don't think what will believe that this is happening. I'm going to have to go in a (inaudible), but he was in shocked. And I said to him it's because you don't believe it's happened, Daniel. You think other people are going to find it hard. And he feels very bad that he's alive while others have died.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOHSIN: Extraordinary emotion and composure showing there, Clarissa. And the mother also said that the first rule of any religion is "Thou shall not kill" and the terrorist will not divide Londoners and they won't bring hate into their heart. Clarissa?

WARD: All right. Saima Mohsin, incredible stories of heroism. Thank you.

Our special coverage from London continues right after this break.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, where you stand with politics or any kind of faith, I feel like it has united the people against such a terrible, terrible thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I saw a lady taking her kids like around some corner. She probably seen him, but I hadn't seen. And they were just -- the looks on their faces, you could tell it like dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:50:48] SAVIDGE: Here in this country several state governors have already reacted to last night's terror attack on London Bridge and many of them were sending condolences. In New York, Governor Cuomo says that he will be stepping up security around the airports, bridges and tunnels.

For more on this, I'm joined now by CNN Correspondents Kristen Holmes. Kristen, how are other U.S. officials reacting and what are they saying about this?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Martin, of course, after any attack like this, you are going to see heightened security concerns here at home. The Department of Homeland Security quickly issuing a statement last night saying there was no information of any credible or specific state -- threat here in the United States.

And officials and police departments across the country are echoing that sentiment, however, as you mentioned, New York City and other big cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco are asking residents to remain vigilant. They are asking them, telling them not to be alarmed if they see an increase in security, police presence. Here's what New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO, (D) NEW YORK CITY: When incidents occur such as the one in London last night, we put our special units such as a critical response command on key duty at locations around the city, particularly well traveled, particularly prominent, all relate to the attack that was undertaken. That means, New Yorkers today will see a heavier presence at key locations around the city. You will see a stronger police presence, including our counter-terror forces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And, you know, Martin, this is not something that is unusual. It is something that we've seen far too often unfortunately in recent years.

SAVIDGE: Yeah, you're right about that. But, we also know that people take to social media to communicate. A lot of celebrities have been talking about this as well, right?

HOLMES: Yeah, that's absolutely right. We have had tweets from Oprah, Mariah Carey, all offering their condolences. And with that concert in Manchester, Ariana Grande was not the only who say the concert was going on to offer her condolences.

We also had tweets from Miley Cyrus who was performing there tonight. She said -- she tweeted a photo of that concert with the, "#WeStandTogether in One Love Manchester." And Niall Horan of One Direction who also was there tweeting, "Thoughts and prayers are with the people of London today after yet another horrific attack," before tweeting about tonight's concert, Martin.

SAVIDGE: Well receive (ph). Kristen Holmes, thank you very much.

Still to come, we're going to get back to London and hear from one eyewitness to the Borough market attacks and his very powerful message about moving forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD ANGELL, EYEWITNESS: I felt more scared now when I walk in, in a bizarre way. But more clear that these people cannot, should not, will not win. We can't have a situation where they seek to divide us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:57:58] WARD: Witnesses to last night's brutal attack in London's Borough Market, which is just behind me, are telling stories -- chilling stories of terror and survival. But one man returns to the scene today, not to see the aftermath, but to pay his bill at the restaurant he fled as the attacks unfolded. And he had a message for his fellow residents. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

ANGELL: And we're going to carry on loving each other, living with each other, being from different parts of the world and the melting pot is London. And I'm going go back to that restaurant. I hope other people do, too, because if us you know, drinking gin and tonics and flirting with handsome men and being friends with brilliant and powerful women offend these people so much that they do those barbaric, vial and cowardly acts. I'm going to go back and to do more not less. And that's what London is it going to do. And we're going to pull together. Manchester show Britain is the best for the last two weeks. It's London's turn and we're up to the fight.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WARD: And he wasn't the only one with the keep calm and carry on London spirit. This picture has already become an iconic symbol of life after the attacks. An unidentified man fleeing the scene of the attacks carrying, of course, his quintessential British pint of beer and you will see that spirit continue among the thousands of fans who are attending the benefit concert in Manchester today just two weeks after a bomb went off at an Ariana Grande concert killing 22 people.

Well, the next hour of our breaking news starts now.

SAVIDGE: Hello. I'm Martin Savidge in for Fredericka Whitfield. I want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world.

WARD: And I'm Clarissa Ward in London. This is our special live coverage of the terror attack here in Britain's capital.

New witness video into CNN shows the panic and confusion as police responded to calls of a van mowing down pedestrians on the iconic London Bridge. Authorities have just towed the van from the scene.

[16:00:06] They say three mask men drove towards the Borough Market, then abandon the vehicle and went on a stabbing spree. Seven people are dead, 48 injured.