Labour MP for Batley and Spen, Jo Cox, has died after being stabbed and shot multiple times after a constituency meeting.
The Guardian reports that Cox was pronounced dead at 1:48pm by a doctor who was attending the scene with paramedics.
A 52-year-old is reported to be in police custody and has been named locally as Tommy Mair.
Reports emerged earlier today that the suspect was heard shouting ‘Britain First’.
Graeme Howard, 38, who lives in nearby Bond Street, told The Guardian:
I heard the shot and I ran outside and saw some ladies from the cafe running out with towels. There was loads of screaming and shouting and the police officers showed up.
He was shouting ‘Britain First’ when he was doing it and being arrested. He was pinned down by two police officers and she was taken away in an ambulance.
Britain First released a video statement to condemn the action and distance the right wing group from the killing.
The group released the video after it was revealed Cox had tragically died, but repeatedly wished her a ‘full recovery’.
In the video, Paul Golding also stated:
We hope the person who did this is strung up on the nearest lamppost. That’s how we view justice.
JO COX SHOOTING: Britain First official statementJO COX SHOOTING: Britain First official statement
Posted by Britain First on Thursday, June 16, 2016
Numerous tributes have been made to the 41-year-old politician, the first MP to be killed in Britain since Conservative MP Ian Gow was assassinated in 1990 by the IRA.
A statement from West Yorkshire police read:
At 12.53 today, police were called to a report of an incident on Market Street, Birstall, where a woman in her 40s had suffered serious injuries and is in a critical condition.
A man in his late 40s to early 50s nearby also suffered slight injuries. Armed officers attended and a 52-year-old man was arrested in the area. There are no further details at present.
Police presence in the area has been increased as a reassurance to the community.
Brendan Cox, Jo’s husband, has issued a statement:
EU campaigning ahead of the scheduled referendum on June 23 has been suspended in light of the tragic incident.
Our thoughts go out to the friends and family of Cox, and to the people of Batley and Spen who she served as an MP since 2015.
