A well-liked British politician died after being shot and repeatedly stabbed Thursday by a deranged gunman who shouted "Britain first" - an apparent reference to an anti-immigration group, and the upcoming vote on whether the U.K. should withdraw from the European Union.
Labour M.P. Jo Cox, a 41-year-old mother of two, was arriving at her office in Birstall, England, when a man, identified by authorities as Tommy Mair, approached her and opened fire.
After shooting her three times, once in the head, the attacker allegedly pulled out a knife and began stabbing and kicking her as she lay dying on the pavement,
The Daily Mail reports.
Cox was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene. Mair was tackled and arrested a short while later.
The gunman’s words "Britain first," is the name of a "group that stages provocative anti-Muslim demonstrations,"
The Washington Post reported.
It is also an apparent reference to the next week’s hotly-contested Brexit vote in which U.K. residents will decide whether their nation will quit the European Union.
Cox supported keeping Britain in the 28-nation EU. She also had been outspoken in advocating for civilian victims in Syria and had argued in the House of Commons for the U.K. to accept 3,000 refugee children.
Groups for and against Brexit said they were suspending their campaigns for 24 hours.
Chief Constable Dee Collins told reporters: "Jo was attacked by a man who inflicted serious wounds that later proved fatal … It is too early to comment on any motive. We are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.’’
Cox began her political career in parliament in 2015 after having worked for the British charity Oxfam. She also a senior adviser to the Freedom Fund, which campaigns against slavery and other domestic and workplace abuses.
She was married to Brendan Cox, a former adviser to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
The assault, outside a local library, shattered the calm of usually peaceful neighborhood which is a suburb of Leeds.
Witness Hichem Ben Abdallah, 56, told the British Press Association: "He was fighting with her and wrestling with her and then the gun went off and then she fell between two cars and I came and saw her bleeding on the floor."
Witnesses said that after the brutal attack, the gunman calmly walked away from the scene. One witness attempted to stop him before police grabbed him.
The Britain First group insisted it had no involvement in the attack, saying it "would never encourage behavior of this sort."
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