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Six Killed, 30 Wounded in London Terror Attacks. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired June 04, 2017 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

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MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: We welcome our viewers from the United States and around the world. I'm Max Foster in London.

Six people are dead in a brazen terror rampage. It started with a van speeding across London Bridge, running down pedestrians. One person said people went flying through the air and the van swerved into oncoming lanes.

British media say this is a picture of the rental van. Police say the van drove towards Borough Market. Panicked patrons went running for their lives as witnesses say the attackers got out of the vehicle and started stabbing people.

We have graphic pictures to show you from inside that market. You may find them disturbing. You can see people here with blood on their clothes, lying on the floor; others tending to the wounded. Authorities say 48 people were taken to hospital across London.

And we also have this picture taken by a witness, which shows two men on the ground at Borough Market. We don't know for sure if these are the assailants but police say they shot and killed all three attackers. They're wearing fake explosive vests and so far there is no claim of responsibility.

Police say the investigation is in the early stages.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK ROWLEY, LONDON METROPOLITAN POLICE: Our current belief is that there were three attackers. But this is early on, so we still have got some inquiries to work through to be completely confident about that.

And it shows armed response vehicles are out, driving around London, day in and day out, to protect the public. They responded quickly, bravely confronted these three individuals, shot them and they are dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The area where all this happened is just south of London Bridge about 10:00 pm local time on a Saturday night. The restaurants and bars were packed with people.

Take a look at another video. This shows the scene inside one of the crowded cafes.

(VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, imagine being there. Let's bring in our correspondents, Isa Soares here in London, also international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson.

Isa, take us through the process of events.

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: London is waking up this morning, on a beautiful Sunday morning in a state of shock because this is the third attack in a period of two months, as you and I well know and have been coverage.

But what we know -- and we saw the map there what was happening in terms of location -- at 10:08 in the afternoon (sic) yesterday, police got their first call and that was the call referring to the van. And men inside of this van, swerving and hitting people, plowing into people, similar to what we saw in Westminster, similar to what we saw in Nice and very similar to what we saw in Berlin, swerving into people, hitting people.

We heard of bodies lying on the ground. They then ditched the van there and they made their way on foot to Borough Market. In Borough Market, they went into a restaurant. They started stabbing people. We know that several people there were stabbed. We do not know the condition they're in at the moment. We know a lot of people went to about five hospitals or so along -- in London.

Once they were there from Borough Market, and we know Borough Market. For those international viewers who don't know Borough Market, this is a very upmarket area, lots of restaurants, lots of stores, food stores.

And it was a beautiful Saturday evening so a lot of people were out there and drinking. In that time that the first call was made to when they were apprehended, eight minutes, Max. It took police eight minutes to apprehend them.

Interesting to point out that apprehending them, shooting them at a point with so many people on the ground. This coming at a time when we've seen so many terrorist attacks already here in this country, where the terror threat had gone down to --

(CROSSTALK)

FOSTER: Well, exactly.

And, Nic, the terror threat level had been lowered just a week ago and people questioning that right now.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, the reason they were raised was because -- it was never given specifically but it appeared to be because a bomb was used in Manchester and they gave the possibility therefore that a bombmaking cell was on the loose and not within the purview and oversight of the intelligence authorities.

So this was -- it meant that there was a potential for that to happen imminently and that was raised -- the --

[02:05:00]

ROBERTSON: -- threat level was raised from severe, which means a threat highly likely and an attack highly likely, to critical, which means a threat, an attack imminent.

So this situation, it appears the parameters will perhaps be slightly different now. We know that they were wearing fake explosives. It certainly won't lead to the immediate conclusion, at least on face value, that we can see, at the moment, for the information the police have provided. It won't lead to the immediate conclusion that there is a bomb factory out there somewhere.

But there will perhaps be other parameters involved here that will lead the authorities to raise the threat level.

But if we look at what happened during the Westminster Bridge attack two months ago, a similar scenario -- one attacker, not three -- but a similar scenario, mowing people down with a vehicle and then moving on to stab, in the case of Westminster, a police officer.

That didn't lead to the threat level being raised, so we'll have to wait and see what happens. But if it doesn't get raised at this time on that basis, I wouldn't be surprised.

But, as you say, a part of this also has to do with the political messaging, a critical period, of course, as we're in the run-up now to a general election just a few days away. People's perception of what the authorities are doing and what steps need to be taken to make people safe.

And a lot of that is going to come from how Theresa May, the prime minister, is able to characterize what the decisions that are being made, what's being implemented on the ground and the way that she can convince people that these measures will make them safe.

But on face value at the moment, it doesn't appear -- and this is only (INAUDIBLE) the limited information we have, it doesn't appear as if it will be necessary to raise the threat level.

But there may be all sorts of information that we're not aware of and that the police are gathering right now, Max, that will play into that.

FOSTER: Less than a week to go to the election.

Isa, I'm sorry to say you had a friend caught up in all this.

SOARES: I did have a friend caught up. He was at a bar in Borough Market. He actually doesn't live in London. He was here to see some friends. He was there with his fiancee and another couple, a lady who was pregnant, heavily pregnant as well.

He did something which I thought really worked for him. He basically went on Facebook and he wrote, "Emergency, please call 999 and send police to Black and Blue in Borough. Anyone help, please, this is not a joke."

He then texted all his close friends, one of which is my husband, and he made people call police and tell them exactly where they are.

And what they did, they heard these guys coming in with knives, stabbing people. He went to the bathroom --

FOSTER: He heard that.

SOARES: -- he heard -- he saw it. He was in that restaurant. And he went and he hid in the toilet with his fiancee and the couple. And, from there --

(CROSSTALK)

FOSTER: Speak to him during this?

SOARES: -- he didn't want to pick up the phone because he didn't want to be heard.

It was quiet but he was messaging constantly until he then said, response has arrived after about an hour or so to get them out.

FOSTER: Is he all right?

SOARES: He's OK. He went to the hospital -- he was seen at the hospital and hopefully we'll be hearing from him this hour on CNN.

FOSTER: Thoughts with him and all the people caught up in this horrific incident.

Eyewitnesses have been speaking to us. Jack Applebee is a restaurant owner near London Bridge. He described the terror rampage as it unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACK APPLEBEE, RESTAURANT OWNER AND EYEWITNESS: Well, I was outside with a few friends and it was a little bit crazy. Like people just kept running down the street and like this one girl was like staying that they're stabbing everyone, they're stabbing people.

And I immediately just turned back around -- and I've got a restaurant full of customers and I just said, "Everyone, to the back," to the back bar. So I was trying to get there, just as quick as we can, literally everyone just got up off their seat, like rushed them all to the back.

And then it just sort of -- yes, you don't really think at the time, and just sort of went to go and grab the keys for the shutter and just sort of tried to put the -- tried to put the -- basically put the shutter down.

And I literally turned back around and there were these three men, standing there, one of which with a machete. And they had this sort of belt on. We didn't really -- they just looked at us and I just didn't really know what to do.

Everyone was sort of at the back of the restaurant and they just sort of carried on going back down towards the street. And me and a colleague ran to the front and we saw -- he kept lookout. And I just saw -- managed to get the shutter down. We just sort of got the shutter down almost or as far as we could.

And it was like a moment of panic. And like the shutter was just being as slow as usual. And we just saw everyone got locked inside and we left -- we left the shutter down. But then when we looked up -- we looked underneath, that -- probably about five minutes later, everyone was in the back. And -- which everyone was worried, like we don't know. There still was a gap in the shutter.

But about five minutes --

[02:10:00]

APPLEBEE: -- later, there was just gunshots everywhere. And everyone's upstairs, like just trying to keep down and we're just trying to keep everyone calm, my whole staff, everyone just sort of everyone -- really, the job, honestly.

It was like -- it was a moment of absolute panic. And then for about an hour and a half, we were hiding upstairs and there's just gunshots going everywhere. And what we seemed to believe might have been like suicide vests. So everyone sort of -- we put everyone in the staff room up top and everyone --

FOSTER (voice-over): Interrupt.

APPLEBEE: -- sort of handing out water to everyone and just sort of -- trying to keep everyone OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).

FOSTER (voice-over): He's just waiting for the live signal to come through. He's standing by, ready to speak to the cameras but he's waiting for that cue from the broadcasters to speak. He is very much stepping up to the plate in these situations.

He's been here before, of course. He also spoke when there was that terror attack in Manchester last week. He's very much a figure. He's kind of the most high-profile Muslim politician in this country and he often speaks for the Muslim community.

But in this situation, he'll be speaking for London. As soon as he is given the cue to speak, I'll be crossing to him, of course. But we're in this horrific situation where politics is on standby. We are less than a week away from the British general elections due to

take place on Thursday, the result will come out on Friday. I think we'll probably hear from the main political parties in the coming hours that they will suspend campaigning as a result of that, because of this horrific series of events.

It's not just what happened last night, it's what happened in Manchester, what happened in Westminster as well just earlier this year. So politicians really having to digest that, having to address it, the public increasingly concerned about the security.

It does seem to strike metropolitan areas: Manchester, London. But I can tell you from living outside London that people in the rural areas are also hugely concerned about this because they just don't want to go into cities right now. They can be attacked anywhere at any time. And they don't know how it's going to happen.

We have got a situation where people just use a vehicle and a knife to attack people. Often we're told by the Metropolitan Police that Britain is a safe country, it's an island, don't have a gun culture. Firearms are difficult to smuggle into the country. But actually you don't need sorts of those things to attack people and to kill people.

And it's just another horrific example of how easy it is to kill people in this capital, this capital of the world, maybe we'll describe it (ph).

We now know the British prime minister Theresa May has spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Mr. Trump tweeted about the attacks earlier saying, "We need to be smart, we need to be vigilant and tough. We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the travel ban as an extra level of safety!"

Then a bit later, "Whatever the United States can do to help out in London and the U.K., we will be there. We are with you. God bless!"

We'll be hearing from Sadiq Khan as soon as he is given the cue to speak.

SADIQ KHAN, MAYOR OF LONDON: Today I'm appalled and furious that these cowardly terrorists would deliberately target innocent Londoners and bystanders enjoying their Saturday night.

There can be no justification for the acts of these terrorists. And I'm quite clear that we'll never let them win, nor will we allow them to cower our city as Londoners.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now six people have been killed, many more injured.

What do we know about the victims?

KHAN: I've been in close contact with police commissioner and senior officers throughout the night. Six people have been killed. More than 40 have been injured and taken to hospitals across London.

Some of them, I'm afraid, are critical. I want to say this, though. The emergency services reacted heroically and brilliantly last night. Not only did they tackle the terrorists but they helped the injured. And as a result of this swift action, fewer people have died than otherwise would have been the case but the severity of the injuries were less bad than they could have been.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In terms of the police reaction, it was very quick for them to apprehend the individuals involved.

Are you confident that the threat (INAUDIBLE)?

KHAN: I've been the mayor now for 13 months and that reinforces my view. We have the best police and security services in the world. They plan, prepare and rehearse for these sorts of incidents. And we saw their swift response last night. We saw the speed at which they shot the terrorists and also how they help the injured as well.

There are certain things I'm not allowed to talk about yet. But I'm sure after the government COBR meeting later, we shall be attending, the head of counterterror and others will be able to --

[02:15:00]

KHAN: -- tell the public what's going on.

I will say this, though. People should remain calm and vigilant, carry on their normal business. The threat level remains at severe and that's assessed by JTAC, who are independent intelligence experts. So that means an attack across the country is still highly likely.

And so we can all be vigilant. If we see anything suspicious or are worried about anybody, please report it to the authorities.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what will you be discussing in that COBR meeting?

KHAN: Well, COBR meetings are where the prime minister chairs, with various bodies around the table, agencies, police experts, including the members of the government and we'll be looking at the investigations unfold, which normally happens after these sorts of horrific attacks. And then after COBR, I'm sure the police will be making a statement.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now this is (INAUDIBLE) kind in London, (INAUDIBLE) low-intensity attack, where you've got somebody using a vehicle and then using knives.

You know, how do you stop this kind of thing from happening in London?

Is there a way?

KHAN: Well, just like terrorists are constantly evolving, finding new ways to disrupt us, harm us, attack us, they police and experts and all of us are finding new ways to keep us safe. Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the

course of the next few days. No reason to be alarmed. One of the things the police and all of us need to do is make sure we're as safe as we possibly can be.

I'm reassured that we are one of the safest global cities in the world, if not these safest global city in the world. But we always evolve and review ways to make sure that we remain as safe as we possibly can.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But there will be many people out there, who see what happened and think actually it's too dangerous to get out.

What would you say to those people?

KHAN: One of the things that these terrorists want to do is disrupt our way of life. They want to stop us enjoying the freedoms that we have, enjoy us mingling and mixing on a Saturday night in the heart of London, having a good time.

They want to stop us voting on Thursday in the general elections and enjoying the democracy that we have. We can't allow them to do that. We aren't going to be cowed by terrorism, nor we let them win.

And we've drawn -- we've shown in previous years and previous decades a stoicism and we'll show that again today and the course of the next few days and weeks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You mentioned the threat before, that it was brought up (INAUDIBLE) after being critical.

Bearing in mind what happened overnight, was that a mistake?

KHAN: No, I don't think so. JTAC are experts, independent from politicians, who analyze all the intelligence they have. For the last few years now, the threat level has been severe. That's across the country; that means an attack is highly likely.

In the immediate days following the Manchester attack, it was raised to critical because the police and experts were still pursuing line of inquiries and they weren't sure if other people were involved in the attack in Manchester.

And critical means an attack is imminent. They're reduced it to severe but it's still a very high level. That means an attack is highly likely. That's why all of us have a responsibility to be vigilant and if we see anything suspicious at all, please report it to the authorities and the experts.

But over the course of today and the next few days in London, you'll be seeing an increased police presence, some of it armed officers, some of it uniformed officers, some of it plainclothes officers, all working incredibly hard to keep us safe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now this has happened just days before a general election. The Manhattan attack, again, happened during the election period.

Does the attack on Westminster, again, an attack on our democracy.

Is Britain's democracy under attack?

Is that the sense that you're getting?

KHAN: My focus today will be responding to the attacker last night and making sure that we're doing all we can to keep our city safe. But the general election's taking place this Thursday.

One of the great things about our way of life is our democracy. Our elections are a wonderful thing and that's one of the things that these terrorists hate. And one of the things that we can do is show that we're not going to be cowed by voting on Thursday and making sure that we understand the importance of our democracy and civil liberties and our human rights.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Conservatives have suspended campaigning.

Do you think that that's the right move (INAUDIBLE) general election?

KHAN: I can understand why people don't want to be canvassing, knocking on doors today. My thoughts are with all those affected and caught up by the horrific attack last night.

But the election's going to be on Thursday. I'll be voting on Thursday. Some have already voted by postal votes. It's important that we do all we can to make sure that we are safe. And that's one of the things we'll be exploring at the COBR meeting later on today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there an argument for postponing the election though?

KHAN: I'm not -- I'd have to go (INAUDIBLE) election. I'm a passionate believer in democracy and making sure that we vote and we recognize that actually one of the things these terrorists hate is voting. They hate democracy and they hate elections and the public choosing who should be our leader rather than who has been imposed upon us. And I look forward to voting it on Thursday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And just a final message to London (INAUDIBLE) --

[02:20:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- (INAUDIBLE) worried at what happened that night.

KHAN: (INAUDIBLE) Londoners and visitors to our great cities to be calm and vigilant today. You will see an increased police presence today, including armed officers and uniformed officers. There's no need, no reason to be alarmed by this. We are the safest global city in the world. You saw last night as (INAUDIBLE) of our planning, our preparation and the rehearsals that take place, the swift response from the military services, tracking a terrorist but also helping the injured.

FOSTER: The mayor of London there, speaking to the media.

Isa Soares was with me, listening to that.

Couple of things interesting, increased police presence, we hear --

(CROSSTALK)

SOARES: -- of course.

FOSTER: London's a safe city?

(CROSSTALK)

SOARES: -- Yes, this is --

FOSTER: Is it really?

SOARES: -- I'm reassured that we're one of the safest global cities in the world, if not the safest global city in the world. And people watching --

FOSTER: -- outside London. I know people that won't come to London anymore.

SOARES: No, and this is it. We've seen so many incidents in the last few months here and I think even those people, international viewers watching, are really thinking twice over whether to come and visit London.

But interesting what he said also, praising the response, the heroism of the forces here. It took police eight minutes to get them, get to shoot and --

FOSTER: The suspects.

SOARES: -- kill --

FOSTER: Incredibly bold.

SOARES: -- on an environment where there is so many people. And it was fascinating as well because what they were doing, they were telling people run, hide, tell and actually patting people down.

You saw video of people with their arms raised so they could pat them down.

(CROSSTALK)

SOARES: -- exactly what's -- very fast response. He was talking to that.

(CROSSTALK)

FOSTER: We know how to respond to these situations. SOARES: It is horrific but it's just the way they've responded to this, the police forces, and also the ambulances here have been outstanding.

Of course, many people appalled and furious, like Sadiq Khan, who's the first Muslim mayor, to -- of London, to talk about this.

FOSTER: OK, Isa, we'll be back with you throughout the hours ahead as we try and make sense of this but, actually, this keeps happening, doesn't it?

And actually it's interesting to hear that from Sadiq Khan, one of his main messages was to go out and vote, because they don't want us to vote. He says it's really important to do that on Thursday.

You're watching our continuing coverage of the deadly terror attacks in London. At least six people now dead, dozens wounded, some of them critically. We'll have more on this when we return.

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[02:25:00]

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FOSTER: The French president describing the attack here in London as an attack on free societies, as we hear that French were among the victims here last night. If you're joining us here, an update on this horrendous breaking news.

At least six people have been killed, 48 people taken to hospital in a pair of terrorist attacks in London. Some are in critical condition. Three assailants also shot dead. Here's what we know.

In the first incident, police say a speeding van mowed down pedestrians on London Bridge. Police say from there the van drove to nearby Borough Market; panicked patrons went running for their lives as witnesses said the attackers started stabbing people. So far there's been no claim of responsibility for these attacks.

Joining me now via Skype from Los Angeles is CNN law enforcement contributor Steve Moore.

It just feels like more of the same, doesn't it?

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: It does, I'm afraid, Max. It feels like we're just in an endless cycle with these things. It's so close to what happened near Parliament recently. It's stunning.

FOSTER: The use of a vehicle, it's, as ever, effective, isn't it?

People don't realize it's a terror attack when a vehicle comes careening toward them. They just think it's an out-of-control vehicle.

MOORE: That's true and, see, that's how the face of terrorism is changing now. What used to be a business of people with guns and bombs has now become the business of any person, with mental or whatever problems, who can drive a car, who can buy a knife.

It's changing our world as we speak. And we're going to have to change our methods in order to address the new threat.

FOSTER: We're hearing from Isa earlier that people responded in the correct way, according to the police. They put their hands up to show that they weren't perpetrators in the attack, so, as they ran out, they showed that they were the victims, as it were.

But, you know, you can never get used to this idea that someone running through a market with a knife or a car is a terrorist. You need time to digest that information, don't you?

So how do people learn from this?

MOORE: Unfortunately, they're learning from watching this attack. People are -- believe it or not, people are becoming more and more sophisticated in how they deal with this.

I would say that the majority of the people who were victims of the attacker in the neighborhood of the attack responded in such an appropriate way because they've, unfortunately, seen it recently and they kind of know what the police are going to be needing them to do.

They're also being much safer. I saw a video of the police going into a pub, I think, yelling for people to get down, very smart thing. What they're doing is the terrorists won't get down.

FOSTER: Yes. And we've seen it in London before, we've seen it in other European cities and around the world, of course. It's happened again; it's grim. We're going to bring viewers the latest updates.

We're also less than a week away from a British election on Thursday. People are encouraged to go out and vote and the London mayor has encouraged people to still do so in the face of this attack. What the political parties are doing in light of that -- next.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: A terror attack hitting London last night. We're hearing now that the Conservative Party, the ruling party, Theresa May's party, has suspended campaigning for the general election with just a few days to go until that election on Thursday.

We expect the Labour Party, the main opposition party, to follow suit. We'll bring you that news as it comes through. Theresa May was due to hold a rally here in London today. She'll be

meeting victims probably instead and speaking outside Downing Street. We'll bring all of that to you live.

After two terror incidents, leaving six people dead, police say the attacks were connected. It all started with a van plowing into pedestrians on London Bridge. One witness said he saw someone jump into the water to avoid getting hit.

The attackers then went to nearby Borough Market and started stabbing people. More than 48 people have been taken to hospital. We're learning some French nationals were amongst the victims as well.

People in hospital in a critical condition. London police say three suspects were shot and killed within eight minutes, actually, of the initial callout. They were wearing fake explosive vests. So far no one has made a claim of responsibility for these attacks.

I'm joined now by former FBI special agent, Bobby Chacon, in Palm Springs, in California. Thank you very much, indeed, for joining us. We're looking for a claim of responsibility but, you know, what does it really mean when it's just another terror attack on a European capital following in this pattern?

BOBBY CHACON, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Right. As you said with Steve earlier, it's kind of getting routine at this point. They claim an attack, the next day the family is somewhat implicated in knowledge. So I think that --

[02:35:00]

CHACON: -- this one is particularly different, specifically from the Manchester attack, similar to the earlier attack before Manchester.

But, yes, I think they'll claim responsibility, whether these guys had been associated with them or not, because that's what gets them the effect, it gets them the press, it gets them the media attention and, in effect, that's what they want.

FOSTER: Should the threat level have been lowered just a few days ago here in the U.K. after Manchester?

CHACON: You know, I'm not privy to the intelligence that was going on. I think that it's quite possible that this attack had nothing to do with that attack, that the group that carried out last night's attack was not on the radar, as the Manchester attacker might have been, with his father previously being related to some Libyan terrorists, his brother being known to authorities.

So I think this attack, you know, it's not really related to that attack. And so I don't think it's the same thing. I think that it could be that, based on the intelligence that they had, it was quite appropriate to lower the threat level.

You know, this attack, it doesn't look like it's connected at all to that attack. This is -- you know, we're going to learn the next couple of days exactly what happened and how these guys put this thing together.

But it seems like this is a much lower level group, much less sophisticated, it was much less planning needed to carry this attack out. So you know, I certainly don't think it's automatically a mistake for them to have lowered the threat level just because this attack happened.

If this was a bombing or if we were already able to tie some of these people to, you know, the cell that was obviously operating in Manchester, then maybe you would have something to go on with that.

But these guys don't seem connected; they don't seem to have been using the same level of sophistication as the Manchester cell had. So it's yet to be seen who these guys actually were.

But certainly the modality of the attack, how crude it was, doesn't seem to lend itself to the fact that these guys were, you know, as internationally tied as the Manchester cell was.

So, therefore, I'm not really, you know, thinking that it was a total mistake to lower the threat level. Based on what they had as intelligence, it may have been perfectly appropriate.

FOSTER: OK. Bobby, thank you for joining us.

From the callout, we understand it was less than nine minutes from the point at which the callout happened and those three suspects were shot dead, so extraordinary work done by the British police today.

Still to come, our breaking news coverage of the London terror attacks continues. We're live in the British capital with more details -- next.

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[02:40:00]

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FOSTER: We're in London with breaking news for you. At least six people dead, dozens more taken to hospital after two terror attacks in the heart of the city.

On Saturday night, multiple victims were stabbed in a rampage through Borough Market, a busy area filled with shops and cafes. People hid in panic; moments earlier, a vehicle had raced across London Bridge, slamming into crowds of people. Police say they shot and killed three attackers. London mayor Sadiq Khan says the police presence will be increased across the British capital -- Isa.

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Max, I want to bring our viewers just a sense of what was happening specifically in one of these key areas you mentioned and that's Borough Market.

And just for openers, the person we're about to interview is a friend of mine.

Gareth, I hope you're with us. Tell our viewers around the world what happened, what you saw.

GARETH, EYEWITNESS: I was in a busy restaurant in the borough just off of High Street, just looking out into the street. All of a sudden, I heard a bang and then I looked out onto the street and then people started running down the street, then started entering the restaurants and locking themselves into restaurants across the street.

There was a bit of chaos and panic and fear in the restaurants as well because no one really knew what was going on. And I managed to stand up with (ph) a couple of friends, one who was heavily pregnant. And then glass started smashing.

We ran upstairs and to the toilet and then just as I looked down the stairs, a guy had come into the restaurant and then come with a big knife looked like a machete. And then we -- I just grabbed my friends and dashed straight into the one cubicle with the four of us.

And we were quiet. We were probably in there for about an hour. I tried to contact some key friends on Facebook, trying to let people know to send the armed response unit there straight away.

We were fearing for our lives. We were hearing banging noises, which we thought were gunshots and we thought it was game over for ourselves. So it was quite horrendous.

(CROSSTALK)

SOARES: And Gareth, during that hour -- during that hour, Gareth, I know because you were texting my husband, who are friends, of course, and you were telling him, asking them to call police.

You said you saw someone with a machete when also you texted us saying knife as well.

Just one person, Gareth?

How many other people did you see?

What did they look like, if you remember?

GARETH: It was about chaos basically when we went upstairs and a bunch of people came. Everything happened quite suddenly so I couldn't really identify anybody.

But it was a guy in a brown coat, wielding a big knife. And there was just lots of shouting and a lot of screaming. Obviously I was in (INAUDIBLE) to your husband, just texting him, (INAUDIBLE) to call because then thee was -- all of a sudden there was a deathly silence.

And then a girl screaming and crying, (INAUDIBLE) shouted, asking if there was anybody upstairs. And she said, "I don't know, I don't know."

And then basically I was talking to your husband the entire time, telling him to send the armed response unit right away --

[02:45:00]

GARETH: -- basically we were fearing for our lives and we think it was game over because we thought he was going to shoot through the door. And it was basically after -- and not --

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SOARES: Yes.

GARETH: -- silence and in the one cubicle with four people, one heavily pregnant. She was due last week, basically, fearing for her life.

And the armed response unit came. Which we aren't too sure whether the armed response unit or not or whether there is somebody else pretending to be them. But (INAUDIBLE). The fear of God into me when I actually had to open the door and to the -- and the response unit (INAUDIBLE) I saw it was fine. And then they took us all out. There was blood in the restaurants, there was blood in the streets and the people clutching themselves, holding their necks with blood towels.

Then we had to run about 100 meters, 150 meters, with a pregnant woman of nine months, with about 50 police officers out. It was extremely scary and (INAUDIBLE).

SOARES: And, Gareth, viewers won't know this. You're originally from Wales, you've worked in London. You're also a man who travels as well. And I know throughout that hour that you were hidden in there, we were texting, I was calling the police as well, telling them where you were and your number.

You weren't picking up the phone. Give me a sense, though, of how you felt that moment, as someone who's lived in London.

When you left, what were you feeling?

I know you were petrified but give us a sense more of what everyone else around you, what they were feeling.

GARETH: I think it's the first time in my life that I felt (INAUDIBLE) thinking that it's absolute game over. I've lived in London for 12 years and I recently lived very close to the previous attack as well (INAUDIBLE) away from London now.

But unfortunately, I came down for one evening and happened to pick the restaurant there just by chance. And it was absolutely -- it was just fear, just looking into my friend's eyes, basically, in that small one cubicle, seeing the fear in their eyes and looking to a woman that is about to give birth, and seeing the fear in her eyes and trying to calm her down and not being able to make a squeaky sound because we can hear voices outside of the door and people walking up and down.

We had to keep deadly silent because we thought we were going to get gunned down through the door, basically, because we could hear the shots outside and then the banging noise and it just -- the fear was immense, basically.

SOARES: Yes.

GARETH: -- and just total chaos and --

SOARES: A terrifying -- a terrifying experience. I'm so happy to hear you're well, as will our viewers, of course, and more importantly let's tell our viewers that the lady that was with you, the pregnant lady, she is well. Her baby is doing well. I know you went to hospital with them.

Thank you, Gareth, for bringing us up to date with what happened. I'll be speaking to you soon as well.

And, Max, what Gareth was saying is this -- he's lived here for a while, like 11 years or 12 years or so, and he was close to the Westminster attack as well. He has a place just over Westminster Bridge.

So this -- he's just someone who has lived here. It is so shocking, absolutely shocking what he went through. The messages that I was getting late last night saying, please hurry, help. This is not a joke. This is happening. Get someone fast. I can't pick up the phone.

FOSTER: And you and I, you know, you live here, I work here. You just don't expect this to happen. (INAUDIBLE) report on it and it's been brought very close to home for you.

SOARES: Absolutely, not expect this to happen, not so frequently as well, which is what we've seen in the last month or so.

FOSTER: OK. Well, Gareth survived, thankfully. Others didn't. Others are still critical in hospital. So nothing really positive to say about this at this point but you're watching CNN. Stay with us for more breaking coverage of the deadly terror attacks here in London.

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[02:50:00]

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FOSTER: Well, another week, another terror attack here in Europe. It's not meant to sound flippant, it's just the reality of the situation. This time it was in London; last week it was in Manchester and, there, they're preparing for a benefit concert by Ariana Grande, where the last terror attack in this country hit at one of her concerts. Phil Black is live for us there.

You know, this event rolled together is what happened in London last night, now?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's going to influence it, certainly, Max, you would have to think. Last night as news of the events in London were breaking, this appeared to be a normal Saturday night in Manchester. People were out in bars and restaurants, the streets were full.

But of course this isn't entirely normal here, not yet. The police presence is still extraordinarily high; every day, every night, people are still coming to this location in the center of town to leave flowers and messages and spend a few minutes, speaking about the 22 victims, including the seven children, who were killed in the bombing that took place outside the Manchester Arena after the Ariana Grande concert just less -- just under two weeks ago.

The people here are still very much processing the horror of that attack. The people here, I think, will be able to feel tremendous empathy for the shock and anger that is being felt in London today as well.

This was always going to be an emotional weekend for Manchester, because as you say, tonight, Ariana Grande returns with a long list of British and international stars to play a huge tribute concert in front of 50,000 people.

The point is to raise money for the victims but also to send a powerful message to the people who plan and support these sorts of violent acts.

Last night, Grande tweeted that she is praying for London. That message, that event certainly carries an extra poignancy because of the events that have taken place in London overnight -- Max.

FOSTER: We're seeing some images there, as you were speaking, of Ariana Grande visiting hospital. We'll talk more about that a little bit later on but they were very powerful images of Ariana Grande going to see people caught up in the attack on her concert and quite extraordinary moments there. And that was part of the healing process. And then we have this happening in London now.

[02:55:00]

FOSTER: It's just horribly grim.

Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. We'll have more of our breaking news in the coming hours.