The London Bridge carnage could have been more serious. The terrorists had reportedly planned to kill more people by renting a 7.5 ton truck. However, their initial planned failed due to their payment being declined and they went ahead and rented a smaller truck, which they used to drive into the throngs of people at the Borough Market in London, killing 8 people and injuring many others.
The vehicle the terrorists had originally planned to use is reported to be similar in appearance to the one used last year in the Nice, France rampage, which resulted in 86 people dying and several others injured.
The details of the attack
According to the head of the Counter Terrorism Command, Dean Haydon, the attackers had perhaps planned more bloodshed had they remained alive after their stabbing rampage and made it back to their truck. The killers, however, didn’t survive the carnage.
The police have reported that the terrorists killed three people on the bridge, including a man who was pushed off the bridge into the Thames, before they abandoned the van. After plowing the van into the crowd of people, they jumped out of it and started their stabbing spree - using 12-inch long knives - killing 5 people and injuring others. They were shot before they could reach their van again. Dean Haydon said the effect of the crime could have been much worse had the terrorists been able to get their hands on the 7.5 ton truck.
The week-long investigation
The Counter-Terrorism department of the Metropolitan Police conducted a week-long investigation of the incident and discovered several petrol bombs in the vehicle. According to the Associated Press, the detectives also found flammable liquids inside a dozen wine bottles with pieces of cloth draped around them.
A couple of blow torches were also discovered in the van in addition to a suitcase, a few office chairs, and gravel. The police have speculated that the gravel was perhaps set in the van to make it weightier.
So far, 18 suspects have been arrested around the Borough Market in London in connection with the crime. Five of them still remain in custody, while the rest have been freed.
What remains to be discovered is how these men knew each other. However, the detectives said that they didn’t suspect a bigger scheme. NBC cited AP on Saturday, writing that police spokesman Haydon said, "It looks as if it is pretty much a contained plot involving the three of them, which is supported by the forensic evidence we've got back so far."
