London Terror Attack: Police fire approximately 50 shots at three attackers

By: Robert Weich

Posted: Jun 4, 2017 12:05 PM CDT

London (CNN) Armed officers responding to the London Bridge terror attack fired an "unprecedented" number of rounds at the three attackers because they were wearing what appeared to be suicide belts, police said.

Britain's most senior counter-terrorism officer, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, said eight officers fired 50 shots at three attackers, to ensure they were neutralized.

The suicide belts were later discovered to be fake, suggesting that the attackers deliberately used the belts to ensure they would be killed. Rowley said he was "not surprised" at the response.

Seven people died and 48 were injured when three men drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before leaping out and launching a stabbing spree in nearby bars and restaurants.

One of the victims was from Canada, according to a statement from the country's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

British Prime Minister Theresa May claimed there was "too much tolerance" of Islamist extremism in the UK as she vowed a clampdown in the wake of the third terror attack to hit the UK this year.

Speaking in Downing Street five days before the UK general election, May described the latest attack as "brutal" and said extremism had to be defeated. "We cannot and must not pretend that things can continue as they are," she said. "Enough is enough."

May insisted that the recent attacks in Westminster, Manchester and London Bridge were unconnected, but warned that they were bound together by the "single evil ideology of Islamist extremism."

She also said that while progress had been made, there remained "far too much tolerance of extremism in our country."

"Since the emergence of the threat from Islamist-inspired terrorism, our country has made significant progress in disrupting plots and protecting the public. But it is time to say `Enough is enough'."

May said that Britain's counter-terrorism strategy would be reviewed, and warned that the internet could no longer remain a "safe space" for extremists.

Police officers on Borough High Street as police are dealing with an incident on London Bridge in London, Saturday, June 3, 2017. Witnesses reported a vehicle hitting pedestrians and injured people on the ground. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP)