Editor’s note: TKNN is referring to the assailant as a terrorist because the man’s yelling indicates this was done in support of a political goal, meeting the definition of a terrorist.
Jo Cox, a Labour member of Parliament, died on Thursday after being attacked. Following a meeting with constituents, Cox was shot and stabbed by a 52 year old man who yelled, “Put Britain first!” Clarke Rothwell, who witnessed the attack, told the Press Association, “He was shouting ‘put Britain first.’ He shouted it about two or three times. He said it before he shot her and after he shot her.”
Cox had held a weekly session for constituents when she left and was attacked.
Britian will vote in a week on leaving the European Union, a move also known as the potential Brexit.
Cox had been vocal in pushing support for the Vote Remain movement. In the wake of Cox’s murder, advocacy on both sides of the issue has been suspended. CNN International delayed the airing of its Brexit debate and BBC pulled the airing of this week’s two political programs, This Week and Question Time.
Prime Minister David Cameron cancelled a Stronger In rally that was scheduled to take place on Saturday in the wake of her murder.
In a statement, Cameron said Cox was “a star for her constituents, a star in parliament, and right across the house.” He also tweeted, “The death of Jo Cox is a tragedy. She was a committed and caring MP. My thoughts are with her husband Brendan and her two young children.”
Labour Party Leader Jeremy Coburn said in a statement, “Jo was universally liked at Westminister, not just by her Labour colleagues, but across parliament.”
“Jo Cox died doing her public duty at the heart of our democracy, listening to and representing the people she was elected to serve. It is a profoundly important cause for us all.”