A Forum Post On 4chan Appears To Have Predicted The Westminster Terror Attack

A posted yesterday on online forum 4chan appeared to predict the terror attack at Westminster.

Two civilians and police officer have so far been confirmed dead at the hands of a lone attacker, who was shot and killed by authorities next to the Houses of Parliament.

Internet users have speculated the attack may have been flagged by a post on the 4chan forum, which contained references to its exact location.

The user attached a photo of two guns taken from an unrelated 2010 forum post with the phrase "/pol/ 21-3-2017" crudely edited into the image.

Credit: 4chan

The reference to the location was posted through a strange code. Alongside the picture, the user posted a series of dashes and dots - when translated into Morse code, they pointed to a URL.

The URL then pinpointed the exact co-ordinates for the attack, Westminster Bridge, which the attacker drove over. Specifically, they are located at the side where Parliament is located, which is where the shooting took place.

The post went live on the afternoon of 21 March, almost exactly 24 hours before the attack.

It isn't yet confirmed that the post was related to the attack, and it made no explicit reference to the date or nature of the incident. But many internet users are pointing out the chilling coincidence of the two events.

One user followed the code and posted "Big Ben?", just minutes after it went online.

In the aftermath of the incident, people took to social media from across the globe to share their support and solidarity using a London underground icon and the hashtag #wearenotafraid.

Facebook has also set up a safety check for friends and family to request and respond to let their loved ones know they are not in danger.

Downing Street has confirmed that British Prime Minister Theresa May was in Parliament when the attack happened but is now safe.

A joint statement from Commons Speaker John Bercow and Lord Fowler, the Lord Speaker, said: "On behalf of Members of both Houses of Parliament, we wish to offer our thoughts to all those affected and their families.

"We would also like to express our gratitude to the police and all emergency services."

James Dawson

James Dawson is a Journalist at LADbible. He has contributed articles to LADbible’s ‘Knowing Me, Knowing EU’ series on the EU referendum, the 'Electoral Dysfunction' series on the 2017 general election, the ‘U OK M8?’ series tackling mental health amongst young men, and for its ‘Climate Change’ initiative in partnership with National Geographic.

@thejaytoday