LONDON, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Westminster Bridge terror attacker, Khalid Masood, was "lawfully killed" when he was shot early last year by an armed protection officer on the grounds of the British Parliament at the end of a murderous rampage, a jury ruled Friday.
The 52-year-old extremist from Kent in southeastern England killed four people on March 22 last year when he drove into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge. The attack, which lasted 82 seconds, injured 29 others.
The attacker was eventually shot dead by a ministerial bodyguard, referred to only as SA74 to protect his identity, at the end of the rampage.
The inquest at the Old Bailey in London heard that Masood ignored several verbal warnings from officers and continued charging toward them before he was shot.
The chief coroner of England and Wales, Mark Lucraft, said the armed officer who shot Masood three times "honestly believed it was necessary" in defense of himself and others.
The jury was shown CCTV footage of the attacker, carrying two large kitchen knives, moving quickly toward two armed close protection officers who had come out of the parliament.
