jo cox mp dead after shooting attack - bbc news
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Jo Cox MP Dead After Shooting Attack - BBC NewsTRANSCRIPT
Jo Cox MP dead after shooting attack
20 minutes ago England
An MP has died after she was shot and stabbed in a "horrific" assault in her constituency,police have said.
Jo Cox, Labour MP for Batley and Spen, was left bleeding on the ground after the attack in WestYorkshire. A 52yearold man was arrested nearby.
One eyewitness told the BBC they heard her attacker shout "put Britain first" at least twicebeforehand.
Tributes flooded in from politicians including David Cameron, Jeremy Corbyn and USSecretary of State John Kerry.
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Mrs Cox's husband Brendan said she would want people "to unite to fight against the hatred thatkilled her".
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Vote Leave and Remain have both suspended campaigning in the EU referendum in light ofthe attack.
Mrs Cox, 41, is the first sitting MP to be killed since 1990, when Ian Gow was the last in a stringof politicians to die at the hands of Northern Irish terror groups.
The arrested man was named locally as Tommy Mair.
Labour leader Mr Corbyn said the country would be "in shock at the horrific murder", describingthe MP as a "much loved colleague".
He added: "Jo died doing her public duty at the heart of our democracy, listening to andrepresenting the people she was elected to serve.
"In the coming days, there will be questions to answer about how and why she died.
"But for now all our thoughts are with Jo's husband Brendan and their two young children. Theywill grow up without their mum, but can be immensely proud of what she did, what she achieved
and what she stood for."
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the Queen will write privately to Mr Cox.
'People screaming'
Cafe owner Clarke Rothwell, who witnessed the attack, said he heard a "loud popping noise thatsounded like a balloon burst a loud balloon".
"When I looked round there's a man stood there in his 50s with a white baseball cap on and ajacket with a gun, an old fashioned looking gun in his hand," he said.
REUTERS
REUTERS
"He shot this lady once and then he shot her again, he fell to the floor, leant over shot her oncemore in the face area.
"Somebody tried to grab him, wrestling with him and then he wielded a knife, like a hunting knife,just started lunging at her with a knife half a dozen times. People were screaming and runningfrom the area".
Eyewitness Hithem Ben Abdallah, said the mother of two was left lying and bleeding on thepavement after the incident.
Mr Abdallah, 56, was in a cafe next door to the library shortly after 13:00 BST when he heardscreaming and went outside.
AFP
'Handmade weapon'
"There was a guy who was being very brave and another guy with a white baseball cap who hewas trying to control and the man in the baseball cap suddenly pulled a gun from his bag".
After a brief scuffle, he said the man stepped back and the MP became involved.
Mr Abdallah said the weapon had "looked handmade" and a man who had been wrestling withthe gunman continued even after seeing the gun.
He said: "The man stepped back with the gun and fired it and then he fired a second shot, as hewas firing he was looking down at the ground."
"He was kicking her as she was lying on the floor", he said.
Her husband, Brendan, has since tweeted a picture of his wife standing by the side of the RiverThames in London.
David Cameron also tweeted to express his condolences.
Mr Kerry said: "It is an assault on everybody who cares about and has faith in democracy."
AFP/GETTY
Leeds North East MP Fabian Hamilton said he had known Jo Cox since before she became anMP.
Mr Hamilton said: "And I'm just completely devastated, I know Birstall reasonably well, and Ithink we're all totally shocked."
Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman said he was "absolutely stunned".
"I was a mentor to her," he said.
"She was the same age as my daughter. She was one of the real talents in parliament, peopleloved her in the constituency."
REUTERS
REUTERS
Ms Cox, who was born in Batley, was elected in 2015.
She was educated at Heckmondwike Grammar School and graduated from CambridgeUniversity in 1995.
A former head of policy for Oxfam, she also worked as an adviser to Sarah Brown andBaroness Kinnock.
Mark Goldring, Oxfam's chief executive, said: " Oxfam is deeply shocked to hear the news. Ourthoughts and sympathies are with Jo and her family at this difficult time."
Most MPs hold surgeries in their constituency to give people an opportunity to meet them anddiscuss matters of concern.
They are usually held once a week and advertised locally or online. An MP may take up anissue on a constituent's behalf.
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