Police in the UK are learning to shoot terrorists while at the wheel of a moving vehicles in an attempt to stop attacks like the one that happened in Westminster last month.
Simon Chesterman, from the National Police Chiefs' Council, said that in the past officers were told not to shoot drivers of moving vehicles, because it could present additional dangers.
However, he said after attacks such as those carried out by Khalid Masood in Westminster, the approach had changed, the BBC reports.
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Terrorist attacks in Nice, Stockholm and Berlin have also seen vehicles used to crash into crowds of innocent people.
Masood killed four people on Westminster Bridge when he mounted the pavement and drove at pedestrians before attacking a policeman. He was eventually shot by police and died in hospital.
Chesterman said that one of the biggest risks associated with firing at a moving vehicle was the chance of bullets bouncing off the car, so police have now been given ammunition to penetrate doors and windows.
He said: "We've seen some very horrible and different tactics lately involving vehicles and lorries.
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"Within our policy, we used to talk about not shooting at a moving vehicle because of the danger we might cause if we fired at a driver.
"But if the vehicle is being used as a weapon in the first place, there aren't many tactics available in relation to stopping it, particularly a very large lorry.
"Driving a vehicle in front of it for example is not going to stop it. So you need to shoot the driver."
He added that the tactics firearms officers are now going to use are 'far more aggressive'. With a change from 'locate, contain and neutralise' to 'locate and confront'.
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This comes after a public outcry to arm cops in the UK after the death of Keith Palmer.
However, in a statement London's police chief Cressida Dick said that he may not have had the time to defend himself anyway.
The number of firearm officers is to increase by around 1,500. By next year, there will be 10,500 armed officers in England and Wales.
Source: BBC, and The Guardian
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