Parliament terror attack video reveals terrifying moment armed police open fire on terrorist in Westminster as horrified witnesses flee

THIS is the moment terrified tourists run for their lives after a crazed knifeman smashed his way into the Houses of Parliament grounds.

Dramatic footage captures the sound of gunshots as armed police opened fire on the attacker.

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Screaming bystanders can be seen sprinting from the scene in Westminster, central London.

Moments later three gunshots ring out in quick succession at around 2.40pm today.

One bystander can be heard saying: "What happened?"

A man on camera replies: "They shot him. [He] was running with a knife.

";They shot him. The police was trying to get him, he came running down there."

Dramatic pictures show armed cops standing over the knifeman.

At least four people, including a police officer, have died and 20 others injured after a 4x4 mowed down a dozen pedestrians on Westminster Bridge.

Witnesses to the carnage have told how one person was thrown over the edge of the bridge and others left bleeding with horrific head wounds.

Cops have now confirmed the incident is being treated as a "terrorist attack" amid reports the driver then stabbed a cop before being gunned down.

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A witness told The Sun Online: "I was just walking up to Parliament just about to walk in the steps.

"I wasn't looking when it happened but I saw the aftermath. (The driver) just went on the pavement and trampled a lot of people.

"There was a woman at the top of the steps her head was just pulsing with blood and bleeding out and there was another woman who flipped over the side of the bridge. Someone landed in the river somewhere.

"From what I could tell I think they got that person because I saw cops on a ferry. She was not in a good state and there were a load of bodies on the road."

The London Port Authority later confirmed a woman was pulled alive from the water, though it is not clear if, or how severely, she was injured.

"There's lots of people with head wounds."

Rob Smith was running past Westminster when he said he saw the drama unfolded, said: (The) grey Hyundai car came across the bridge then across the cycle lane, hit a man on a bike and drive into the wall gates.

"Police ran straight out and shot him. I think there was another person but I can't be sure."

He said that officers had been drawing their guns as they ran out.

Poland's former foreign minister, Radek Sikorski, says he was in a taxi leaving Westminster and was checking his email when he heard something like a car crash, "something like a car hitting metal sheet."

"I look up and I see that a person is lying on the pavement. I started my camera and I saw more people lying on the street and on the pavement," Sikorski said on Poland's TVN24.

"People started running up to them. I saw one person who gave no sign of life, another man was bleeding from his head.

"In all, I saw five people who were at least seriously injured," he said.

"The taxi driver immediately called the emergency number. I heard ambulances within two or three minutes, so the rescue action was really very quick. There is a hospital near there."

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"It all happened so fast that there was no time to get scared," said Sikorski who posted his video on Twitter.

Eyewitness Rick Longley also described the attack to the Press Association.

"We were just walking up to the station and there was a loud bang and a guy, someone, crashed a car and took some pedestrians out.

"They were just laying there and then the whole crowd just surged around the corner by the gates just opposite Big Ben.

"A guy came past my right shoulder with a big knife and just started plunging it into the policeman. I have never seen anything like that. I just can't believe what I just saw."

Jayne Wilkinson, also told the Press Association she had seen the drama unfold.

"We were taking photos of Big Ben and we saw all the people running towards us, and then there was an Asian guy in about his 40s carrying a knife about seven or eight inches long.

"And then there were three shots fired, and then we crossed the road and looked over. The man was on the floor with blood.

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"He had a lightweight jacket on, dark trousers and a shirt. He was running through those gates, towards Parliament, and the police were chasing him."

Scotland Yard has since released a statement asking people to avoid: Parliament Square; Whitehall; Westminster Bridge; Lambeth Bridge; Victoria Street up to the junction with Broadway and the Victoria Embankment up to Embankment tube.

"This is to allow the emergency services to deal with the ongoing incident.

"Officers - including firearms officers - remain on the scene and we are treating this as a terrorist incident until we know otherwise. We thank the public for their assistance."

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