British lawmaker David Amess has been killed in a brutal knife attack in a church. Amess was stabbed by a man several times while he was in a meeting with voters from his electoral district on Friday.
According to Britain's Sun newspaper, anti-terror investigators said the arrested British national of Somali origin may have been is inspired by Islamic extremism.
"Urgent background checks are being carried out on him to establish any potential links with jihadist groups," the daily reported.
The report further stated that the 25-year-old suspect lived in the MP's Southend West constituency the refugee family arrived in the UK from Somalia in the 1990s.
Attack at Church
The knife attack took place around midday at the Belfairs Methodist Church in eastern England. According to reports, a man walked into the Church in Leigh-on-Sea of south Essex and lunged at Amess stabbing him to death.
Authorities said that Amess was given emergency treatment at the scene, but he could not survive the fatal attack. "He was treated by emergency services but, sadly, died at the scene," police said.
Moreover, authorities are yet to find the motive behind killing Amess. Amess' Colleagues from across the parliament were shocked to learn about his death in the knife attack and paid tribute to the MP, who held regular meetings with his constituents every first and third Friday of the month.
Who stabbed David Amess?
Police have arrested a young man and taken him into custody in connection with the stabbing of Amess in the murder incident.
"A 25-year-old man was quickly arrested after officers arrived at the scene on suspicion of murder, and a knife was recovered," police said. However, the identity of the killer is yet to be revealed by the Essex police.
Authorities from the Essex police department also took to their official Twitter handle to spread the news about the incident. "A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was stabbed in #LeighonSea. We were called to Eastwood Road North shortly after 12.05 pm. Sadly, a man later died. A man was arrested at the scene," the post on the Essex police Twitter page read.
Authorities have also revealed that they are not looking for any more suspects related to the U.K. MP's murder case at the moment. "We are not looking for anyone else," the post further read.
Essex police department has also alerted the public to contact them in case anyone saw anything or has CCTV, dashcam or doorbell footage.
"If you have any information you can submit a report online at https://www.essex.police.uk or use the 'Live Chat' button to speak to an online operator between 7am-11pm," according to a release.
Former Prime Minister David Cameron Tweets
As the news of the Amess' attack emerged, former Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted, "This is the most devastating, horrific & tragic news."
"Words cannot adequately express the horror of what has happened today," his post further read.
Prime Minister Borris Johnson, who was attending a meeting in Bristol rushed back to London after learning about the incident. Also, Johnson's wife, Carrie Johnson, expressed grief over the MP's demise and said she was devastated.
"Absolutely devastating news about Sir David Amess. He was hugely kind and good," she said on Twitter. "An enormous animal lover and a true gent. This is so completely unjust," she said.
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