The London Bridge Attacks

On Saturday night, three terrorists murdered 8 people and hospitalized at least 48 more in vehicular and knife attacks on London Bridge and nearby Borough Market. The attackers' identities are as yet unknown, but early on Sunday morning police arrested fourteen in raids in East London. No organization has claimed their attacks, either. An eyewitness on London Bridge told the BBC that the terrorists had shouted, "This is for Allah."

On Saturday night, just after 10:00 pm local time, a white van accelerated off the roadway of London Bridge at a speed estimated as 50 mph, mowing down pedestrians on the sidewalk. An eyewitness told the BBC that three men jumped out and after "kicking" and "punching" the injured pedestrians who lay on the ground, drew knives and ran towards the pubs and restaurants of nearby Borough Market, stabbing people as they went. Amid panicking crowds, armed police arrived within minutes and shot three men dead. At least one of them reportedly had a canister strapped to his chest—possibly a dummy bomb.

Police have evacuated all buildings in the London Bridge area, including hotels, the iconic Shard building, and the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. A large area of central London remains closed. The six hospitals where the injured were taken are under lockdown.

The details will trickle in over the next day or two, but the killers, their methods, and their targets are grimly familiar: The use of a car as a weapon and the butchery with knives are reminiscent of the events of March, when Khalid Masood mowed down pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, and then attacked police at the gates of the Houses of Parliament. And ordinary people on a night out have become a staple target of the Islamists (see the Paris attacks of 2015).

Over the next day or two, we shall see a biographical parade of those who died or were horribly wounded because they went out for a drink, a flirt, or a dance. We shall also become familiar with the three men who attacked them. Inevitably, the biographies of the murdered will be eclipsed by the biographies of their murderers. For we already know why the victims died, why dozens more were run over, slashed, and stabbed. They had the bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.