LONDON – The three people killed and at least 30 injured in the attack in Westminster were a cosmopolitan snapshot of one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities.
The dead included a British policeman, stabbed repeatedly, a U.S. tourist who was celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary and a school administrator adored in the Spanish town where she spent summer vacations with her family.
The injured came from 12 countries. They included schoolchildren from France, a Romanian couple and others who traveled from as far as China to explore London.
Here’s what’s known about the victims:
Police Officer Keith Palmer, 48, was on duty protecting Parliament Wednesday when he was stabbed to death.
He had been a member of the parliamentary and diplomatic protection forces for 15 years, and a soldier in the Royal Artillery before that.
Honoring Palmer, Prime Minister Theresa May said he was “a husband, a father … he was every inch a hero.
“His actions will never be forgotten.”
Conservative lawmaker James Cleverly tweeted that he was “heartbroken,” having known Palmer for 25 years. He said they served in the military together.
“A lovely man, a friend,” Cleverly wrote.
Charlton Athletic Football Club said Palmer was a loyal and long-time fan of the team and “a familiar face” at its London stadium, The Valley. As a tribute, the club placed one of its red-and-white scarves on his seat in the East Stand where he sat “for many years.” It said the scarf will stay there until the team’s next game at the stadium on April 4.
Aysha Frade, a British national whose mother is Spanish, was one of two people killed on the bridge.
In the northwestern Spanish town of Betanzos, where her mother was born and her two sisters run an English-language school, the mayor said: “The whole town is shocked.”
Although Frade, 43, was born and lived in London, she spent weeks every summer in Betanzos visiting relatives, said Ramón García Vázquez, mayor of the town of 13,000 people in Spain’s Galicia region.
“The family of Aysha was very well known in the village and loved by everybody here,” he said.
He said her two elder sisters, Silvia and Michelle, flew to London early Thursday. Betanzos town hall held a minute’s silence for the family at noon Thursday and the mayor announced three days of mourning, canceling all official activities in the town.
Frade worked as an administrator at the DLD College — a school in Westminster a stone’s throw from Parliament.
“She was highly regarded and loved by our students and by her colleagues. She will be deeply missed by all of us,” Rachel Borland, the college principal, said in a statement.
Frade had two daughters, Spain’s regional Voz de Galicia newspaper reported.
Kurt W. Cochran, from the United States, was on the last day of a trip celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary when he was killed, according to the Mormon church his parents-in-law work for.
His wife, Melissa, was seriously injured. She remains hospitalized.
The church said Thursday the Utah couple was also visiting the woman’s parents, who are Mormon missionaries in London.
In a tweet, U.S. President Donald Trump called Cochran “a great American” and said: “My prayers and condolences are with his family and friends.”
Prime Minister Theresa May said the injured included 12 British, three French, two Romanians, four South Koreans, two from Greece and one each from Germany, Poland, Ireland, China and Italy. The U.S. State Department said it had reports of two U.S. citizens injured. Portuguese officials also said one person from Portugal was injured.
Police earlier said that seven people were in critical condition.
