Woolwich Machete Murder May Be Terrorism

Impact

A man who has been reported to be a serving soldier was hacked to death and beheaded Wednesday afternoon in a grisly attack that shocked the neighborhood of Woolwich in London.

Two men were shot in the aftermath of the attack and they are both currently hospitalized. According to reports, they are the alleged suspects in the murder. In the wake of the attack many drifted to the idea that this was a terrorist act given the rhetoric used in the video above, but this will be difficult to prove until more information is discovered.

The Metropolitan Police, the police force for the city of London, released a statement on the attack. It can be see below:

No mention of terrorism-related issues was made by the Metropolitan Police.

However British Prime Minister David Cameron said that there were "strong indications that it was a terrorist incident."

Exactly what information suggested this is unknown at the time.

The British Cabinet's emergency response committee, known as COBRA, tightened up security in Woolwich and other military barracks in London. Cameron is cutting short a meeting with French President Francois Hollande to chair the COBRA meeting.

Although there have been rumblings of this being a terrorist incident, it is way too early to declare this terrorism related. In comparison to the Boston Marathon bombing that was clearly aimed at large numbers of people, this attack only involved one person, although it was a horrific attack. Until further information emerges we simply do not have enough information to accurately label this either a terrorist attack or the actions of two severely demented individuals.