The police have identified the marauding attacker:

The man believed to have carried out the attack in Westminster has been named by police as Khalid Masood.

Kent-born Masood, who was shot dead in the attack, was not the subject of any current police investigations, but had a range of previous convictions.

The 52-year-old was believed to have been living in the West Midlands.

The so-called Islamic State group has said it was behind the attack, in which PC Keith Palmer, Aysha Frade and US tourist Kurt Cochran were killed.

Whether or not IS gave any planning or logistical help, of course it’s “behind” the attack in the larger sense: it models violence and brutality in the name of religion, and people who love violence and brutality feel justified in their pet hobby.

The Metropolitan Police said there had been no prior intelligence about Masood’s intention to carry out an attack.

But he was known to the police and his previous convictions included causing grievous bodily harm, possession of offensive weapons and public order offences.

A violence-loving guy. Which is prior, the religion or the love of violence and brutality? I think it’s the latter.

A JustGiving page set up for the family of PC Palmer reached its target of £100,000 on Thursday afternoon, less than 24 hours after it had been set up. That target has since been doubled.

The Met said that as a mark of respect, the constable’s shoulder number, 4157U, would be retired and not reissued to any other officer.

Mrs Frade worked at a London college, while Mr Cochran was from Utah, in the US, and had been visiting the capital with his wife Melissa, who is in hospital with serious injuries.

According to a family statement, the couple had been celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary and were due to return to the US on Thursday.

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The casualties included 12 Britons, three French children -who have since returned home – two Romanians, four South Koreans, one German, one Pole, one Irish, one Chinese, one Italian, one American and two Greeks.

A multicultural bridge, an international bridge, a bridge that draws people from all over. It’s the bridge where the gaudy Victorian-Gothic Houses of Parliament are right in front of you (going south to north), so naturally it draws people who want to get a look at London. I like the view from Waterloo bridge even more, myself, but Westminster bridge is nothing to sneeze at. Now it will be a place of horror for years to come.