At 2:40 p.m. local time, a terrorist drove a car through crowds of people on London’s Westminster Bridge, before stabbing a police officer and trying to enter the British Parliament.
READ MORE: As it happened: Eyewitnesses describe London terror attack
In the wake of the attack, Donald Trump Jr., the son of U.S. President Donald Trump, tweeted an old article from U.K. newspaper The Independent in which London Mayor Sadiq Khan discussed terror attack preparedness.
“You have to be kidding me?!: Terror attacks are part of living in big city, says London Mayor Sadiq Khan,” Trump Jr. tweeted.
In the article, which was published in September 2016, Khan said that living with the threat of terror attacks is “part and parcel of living in a big city,” before encouraging Londoners to “be vigilant.”
Khan gave the interview in response to a series of events, including a bombing in New York’s Chelsea neighbourhood.
READ MORE: New York bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami charged with attempted murder
Social media users slammed Trump Jr.’s tweet as insensitive.
“Is this helpful @DonaldJTrumpJr? Did you even read the article before goading London’s Mayor during a live incident?” British journalist Ciaran Jenkins wrote.
“You use a terrorist attack on our city to attack London’s Mayor for your own political gain. You’re a disgrace,” British MP Wes Streeting said.
Trump Jr. also tweeted out a link naming a British-born convicted terrorist as the suspect of the shooting, but the BBC has confirmed that Abu Izzadeen was in jail at the time of the attacks and is not the attacker.
“Londoners will never be cowed by terrorism,” Khan said in his official response to the terror attack.
“I want to reassure all Londoners and all our visitors not to be alarmed. Our city remains one of the safest in the world. London is the greatest city in the world. And we stand together in the face of those who seek to harm us and destroy our way of life. We always have and we always will.”
WATCH: London mayor sends condolences after deadly terror attack
The official White House response to the terror attack was brief, but professional.
Spokesman Sean Spicer said Wednesday that Trump spoke with British Prime Minister Theresa May and said that the White House condemns the attacks and applauds “the quick response of British police and first responders.”
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson issued a statement Wednesday afternoon condemning the attacks, too.
“We condemn these horrific acts of violence, and whether they were carried out by troubled individuals or by terrorists, the victims know no difference,” Tillerson said.
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