Second London terror attack averted close to Houses of Parliament

As part of an ongoing stop and search operation, London Metropolitan Police arrested a suspected terrorist armed with a backpack of knives.

Since the London terror attack of March 22, London Metropolitan Police have been running an ongoing stop and search operation. It has ended up averting yet another terror attack on Thursday, April 27, after police arrested a potential terrorist carrying knives.

Potential terrorist carrying backpack of knives detained

According to London Metropolitan Police, one suspect has been detained in Whitehall, close to the Houses of Parliament where the previous terror attack occurred. He was said to be carrying a backpack of knives in an area that is also close to the official residence of the British Prime Minister Theresa May. The International Business Times reports that a spokesperson for May had said she was not at 10 Downing Street at the time of the arrest. Photos taken at the scene captured images of police surrounding the man. Traffic was closed on the roads around Whitehall and Parliament Street due to the incident.

Perpetrator of attempted terror attack in #London today. pic.twitter.com/D8t24hNufe

— Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) April 27, 2017

Incident occurred in the same area as the recent London terror attack

In the previous London terror attack on March 22, Khalid Masood was shot and killed by police marksmen after he killed five people, including a police officer, while driving his car through a crowd of pedestrians on Westminster Bridge. Masood then crashed the vehicle outside the Parliament buildings and stabbed PC Keith Palmer, who was on duty as a guard.

Man arrested near UK Parliament in London on suspicion of planning a terror attack was carrying knives, police say https://t.co/1HI4P6etrh pic.twitter.com/JsLHLYCosg

— CNN (@CNN) April 27, 2017

ABC News reports that police said in a statement that armed officers had arrested a 27-year-old man in Parliament Street on the corner of Parliament Square. Officers from the Metropolitan Police Specialist Firearms Command detained the man on suspicion of the possession of an offensive weapon, as well as suspicion of preparation, instigation and commission of acts of terrorism. Various knives were recovered from the suspect, contained in his backpack. No injuries were reported in the incident.

No immediate indications of further terrorist threat

Police continued by stating that the man is being detained under the Terrorism Act and is currently in their custody at a south London police station. In the meantime officers from the Counter Terrorism Command are reportedly continuing investigations, but after the arrest, police do not believe there is an immediate threat.

Sadiq Khan, London’s Mayor, thanked the Metropolitan Police officers for dealing so swiftly and professionally with the terror-related incident in Whitehall, saying he has been fully briefed by the Metropolitan Commissioner on the arrest.

Sources: ABC News and IBTimes

Dead bat found in Fresh Express packaged salad in Florida leads to recall

Two people have started precautionary rabies treatment after a dead bat was found in a pack of Organic Marketside Spring Mix from a Walmart store.

 

View larger image

When tucking into a healthy serving of salad, the last thing anyone wants to find is a dead bat on their plate. However two people in Florida did start munching their Organic Marketside Spring Mix salad before uncovering the deceased critter. Now Fresh Express is recalling a limited number of cases of the product from Walmart stores all over the southeastern United States. As reported by the Miami Herald, the CDC is reportedly working with the Florida Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control to fully investigate the matter.

Minimal chance of rabies contamination, but …

On a cheerful note, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration did say in the salad recall notes that while there is a possibility of finding bat body parts in your salad, there is luckily only a “minimal risk of rabies contamination.” 

However, on a definitely less cheerful note, the CDC states on their website that the bat remains were sent to a rabies lab for laboratory testing, as bats in the U.S. have sometimes been known to have the disease. The CDC statement says that due to the “deteriorated condition” of the bat, this doesn’t allow them to definitively state whether or not the bat in question had rabies.

However, the CDC did cite the risk of rabies transmission from the salad to be very low, but they cannot rule it out altogether. For that reason both people who tucked into the contaminated salad are set to start treatment, just as if they had definitely been exposed to the disease.

According to a report by CNN, Fresh Express said in a statement that as soon as they were notified about the discovery, food safety rapid response teams from both Fresh Express and Walmart acted immediately to investigate all records relating to the product in question and initiated the necessary product recall and removal procedures. According to the statement, no other Marketside or Fresh Express salads are subject to a recall.

Shoppers should check whether they bought the product

For anyone who might have a pack sitting in their refrigerator, the Fresh Express product in question is served up in a five-ounce, clear plastic container. Reportedly the “Best By” date on the product is April 14, 2017 and the production code on the pack is G089B19. The UPC code on the bottom of the salad container is 6 8113132897 5.

Anyone who finds they have purchased the salad in question – with or without the extra protein value – can either throw the pack away or return it to the branch of Walmart where it was purchased for a refund. To get an idea of locations, the Fresh Express salads in question were delivered to Walmart stores in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina and, of course, Florida. So far no other discovered body parts have been reported.

Sources: CNN, Miami Herald

Florida sausage thief arrested after jumping off bridge to evade police

A man in Fort Walton Beach, Florida was arrested on April 3 after stealing sausage worth around $10 from a local Publix grocery store.

According to the Fort Walton Beach Police, on Monday, April 3 David Randall Bertram, 41, stole sausage worth $10.38 from a Publix grocery store in the town.

After Bertram was arrested for his crime and was being escorted to the police squad car, the sausage thief seized an opportunity to escape and made a run for freedom.

While police officers ordered him to stop Bertram ran across every lane on U.S. Highway 98 to get away from them, heading towards the Brooks Bridge. On arrival at the bridge, Bertram then jumped, landing eight feet below in Brooks Street. On landing, another officer in that street ordered him to stop. Bertram ignored him and carried on running. The police officer then reportedly used his Taser twice to subdue the sausage thief and arrested him. 

Bertram was taken to Okaloosa County Jail on charges of shoplifting, resisting arrest and, reportedly, giving a false name. It is unknown what handle he gave the officer.

Sources: Orlando Weekly / AOL