Is this a copycat crime? A man in the United Kingdom tried to crash into 10 Downing Street, the official residence of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Mr. Sunak was inside the Downing Street complex when the vehicle crashed into the gates. The man’s name has not been released, and we don’t have a motive. Given the UK’s laxer standards regarding holding a suspect without charge, I’m sure we’ll find out more, though, later. It is not being treated as an incident related to terrorism (via The Guardian):
A man has been arrested after a car was driven into the gates outside Downing Street.
No one was injured, and a brief Metropolitan police statement said armed officers arrested a man on suspicion of criminal damage and dangerous driving after the car struck the gates blocking the entrance to the street, where it joins Whitehall. A section of Whitehall was cordoned off after the incident at around 4.20pm on Thursday.
Police said the man was taken into custody but gave no details about him and there was no immediate word on why he might have driven into the gates.
Rishi Sunak was inside the Downing Street complex, which includes the flats for the prime minister and chancellor, as well as a network of offices that connect to other government buildings. He left soon afterwards.
Footage of the incident, obtained by BBC News, shows the silver Kia hatchback drive laterally across Whitehall and towards the heavily reinforced gates before slowing down and striking them at apparently low speed.
Subsequent photos showed the car with its boot open, seemingly for police to search it. It was later removed by a car transporter.
This incident comes off the heels of the kid Sai Varshith Kandula, 19, who drove a U-Haul into the barricades near the White House. Kandula was from Chesterfield, Missouri, and plotted to kidnap Joe Biden, kill him, and seize control of the government. Duct tape and a journal were found inside his backpack. It’s possible that the journal, which reportedly contained multiple pages of writing, is a manifesto. Yet, the media focused on the Nazi flag that was also found inside the vehicle. But once Kandula was identified, the media sprinted for the hills. There’s nothing here that can be used against Republicans. Kandula faced a slew of charges, including intent to kill, kidnap, or harm the president of the United States and assault with a deadly weapon, but got those quietly downgraded to one count of destruction of government property.