A member of Britain’s Parliament died Thursday after she was shot and stabbed in Birstall, near the northern city of Leeds.
Labor Member of Parliament Jo Cox died as a result of her injuries, according to Dee Collins, Temporary Chief Constable of the West Yorkshire Police.
According to a police statement, a 52-year-old man was arrested in connection with the attack. Authorities have declined to discuss possible motives behind the attack.
However, there were reports that the alleged attacker yelled “Britain First” during the attack.
British First, an extremist national political party, issued a statement denying any connection in the attack on Cox and that they “would never encourage behavior of this sort.”
Cox, a 41-year-old married mother of two, was elected in May 2015. She was attacked outside the Birstall library after holding a regular meeting with constituents just before 1 p.m. local time.
Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labor Party extended his condolences over Cox’s death, saying she had a “lifelong record of public service and a deep commitment to humanity” and everyone is “in shock at the horrific murder.”
“Jo Cox died doing her public duty at the heart of our democracy,” Corbyn said in a statement, adding she was “universally liked” by “not just her Labor colleagues, but across parliament.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jo and her family,” British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted.
Groups on both side of next week’s referendum over whether Britain should leave the European Union announced their campaigns will be halted in the wake of the attack. Cox wanted Britain to remain in the EU, and was also outspoken in advocating for victims of the civil war in Syria.
Members of Parliament do not usually have security protection in Britain.
