Brad Myers(LONDON) — Seven people were killed, three attackers are dead and 48 injured have been taken to hospitals after a “brutal terrorist attack” in London Saturday night involving a vehicle plowing into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbings in Borough Market, officials said.

British Prime Minister Theresa May called the events a “brutal terrorist attack” and said the attackers were “terrorists.”

“There is far too much tolerance of extremism in our country,” she said at a press conference Sunday morning.

London Metropolitan Police announced on Sunday a series of arrests related to the attack.

“Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command have this morning, Sunday 4 June, arrested 12 people in Barking, east London, in connection with last night’s incidents in London Bridge and the Borough Market area,” read a statement. “Searches of a number of addresses in Barking are continuing.”

Police also confirmed that law enforcement officers were injured in the line of duty.

“Among those injured in the attack are a British Transport Police officer and an off-duty Metropolitan Police officer,” read the statement. “Both remain in hospital with serious injuries but neither are believed to be in a life-threatening condition.”

The British Transport Police officer who was injured was “able to recount how he faced the attackers with only his baton” despite being “seriously unwell,” said Chief Constable Paul Crowther.

“For an officer who only joined us less than two years ago, the bravery he showed was outstanding and makes me extremely proud,” Crowther said.

May took direct aim at Islamic extremism, saying, “While the attacks are not connected, they are connected in one important sense: they are bound together by the single evil ideology that is Islamic extremism. Defeating this ideology is one of the great challenges of our time.”

May also cited the Internet as a breeding ground for extremism, saying: “We cannot allow this ideology the safe space that allows it to breed.”

At a press conference Sunday morning, London Metropolitan Commissioner Cressida Dick announced that the death toll had increased from 6 to 7. She added, “We believe there were 3 attackers and we believe they are dead.”

Dick said police “believed” that the incident was under control, but a large police cordon remained in place in the area, south of the Thames, on Sunday. She police patrols will be increased in London, including those by armed officers.

Police said they responded to reports of a vehicle striking pedestrians on London Bridge at about 10:08 p.m. local time.

“The vehicle continued to drive from London Bridge to Borough Market,” Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said. “The suspects then left the vehicle and a number of people were stabbed.”

 Armed officers confronted the three male suspects, who were shot and killed by authorities in Borough Market, Rowley said. It was eight minutes, from the moment police were notified about the attack to when the three men were killed, Dick said.

Police said the suspects were wearing fake explosive vests. Prime Minister May said police determined they were worn “to spread panic and fear.”

The suspects were confronted and shot by the police within eight minutes of the first call, Rowley added.

 BBC reporter Holly Jones, who was on London Bridge at the time of that incident, told the network that several people were hurt after a white van swerved and hit a crowd of people while it was crossing London Bridge.

“A white van driver came speeding — probably about 50 mph — veered off the road into the crowds of people who were walking along the pavement,” she told BBC News. “He swerved right round me and then hit about five or six people. He hit about two people in front of me and then three behind. I’d say there are about four severely injured people. They all have paramedics assisting them at the moment.”

 The London Ambulance Service’s assistant director of operations, Peter Rhodes, said in a statement early Sunday morning that 48 people were taken to five hospitals and that “a number of others” were treated at the scene for “minor injuries, all in connection with the London Bridge incident.

Rhodes added, “We sent over 80 of our medics to the scene including ambulance crews, advanced paramedics, specialist response teams and an advanced trauma team from London’s Air Ambulance.”

At a press conference Sunday morning, London mayor Sadiq Khan said of those transported to hospitals, “some of them I’m afraid are critical.” And Prime Minister May described some of the injured as having “life-threatening conditions.”

He also said the number of casualties could have been higher had EMS workers not been so quick to respond. “The emergency services reacted heroically and brilliantly last night,” Khan said. “Not only did they tackle the terrorist, but they helped the injured. And as a result of their swift action, fewer people have died than would otherwise have been the case, but also the severity of the injuries are less bad than they could have been.”

While a complete rundown of the nationalities of the victims and injured has not yet been provided, French President Emmanuel Macron said French citizens are among the wounded.

Khan was asked if it was a mistake for the country’s threat level to be reduced from critical to severe on May 27 in light of Saturday’s attack. “No, I don’t think so,” he said. “In the immediate days following the Manchester attack it was raised to critical because the police and experts were still pursuing lines of inquiries and they weren’t sure if any other people were involved in the attack at Manchester … critical means an attack is imminent … they’ve reduced it to severe but it’s still a very high level. That means an attack is highly likely.”

At her press conference, Prime Minister May said British law enforcement agencies had “disrupted five credible threats since the Westminster attack in March.” May also said that Saturday’s attack was not connected to recent terror incidents, which include attacks at Westminster and Manchester Arena.

 British Transport Police said one of its officers is among the injured. The officer was one of the first to arrive at the London Bridge scene and his condition is characterized as serious but non-life-threatening, the British Transport Police said.

Police are urging the public to avoid London Bridge and Borough Market. Anyone with images or film of the incident is asked to upload them at www.ukpoliceimageappeal.co.uk, police said.

 London Bridge is normally crowded on Saturday nights, and Borough Market is a popular area packed with bars and restaurants a short distance from the bridge.

Rowley said the police “are reviewing and planning to strengthen our policing stance across London over the forthcoming days, and there will be additional police and officers deployed across the Capital.”

He added, “I would like to ask the public to remain vigilant and let us know if they see anything suspicious that causes them concern and dial 999 immediately.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who also called the incidents terrorism, said in a statement, “This was a deliberate and cowardly attack on innocent Londoners and visitors to our city enjoying their Saturday night. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. There is no justification whatsoever for such barbaric acts.”

President Donald Trump was briefed on the situation and spoke with Prime Minister May to offer his condolences. The White House said Trump “praised the heroic response of police and other first responders and offered the full support of the United States Government in investigating and bringing those responsible for these heinous acts to justice.”

The U.S. State Department condemned the incidents, saying in a statement, “The United States stands ready to provide any assistance authorities in the United Kingdom may request. Our hearts are with the families and loved ones of the victims. We wish a full and quick recovery to those injured in the attacks.”

The U.S. Embassy in London said, “We are closely monitoring the incidents in London. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of those affected by this terrible situation … We stand ready to provide all possible consular assistance should we become aware of any affected U.S. citizens.”

At Sunday morning’s press conference, London Metropolitan Police’s Cressida Dick said she believes information will be shared with U.S. law enforcement agencies as usual after such an attack.

The attack comes just days ahead of Britain’s general election on Thursday. Both May’s Conservative party and Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party said Sunday morning that they are suspending campaigning. Corbyn said his party “will be suspending national campaigning until this evening, after consultations with other parties, as a mark of respect for those who have died and suffered injury. But Paul Nuttal, leader of the UK Independence Party, tweeted, “I am refusing to suspend the UKIP campaign because disrupting our democracy is what extremists want.”

Also Saturday night, police reported a stabbing incident in London’s Vauxhall neighborhood, but police have since said that it is not connected to the incidents on London Bridge and at Borough Market.

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