The UK, along with the rest of the world, was shocked and devastated when the bombing unfolded at the Manchester Arena. Twenty-two innocent lives were taken and more than 50 people needed treatment in hospital.
As a result, the terror threat level has been raised from severe to critical, meaning that security officials think that the next attack could be imminent. This means that around 900 British army troops will be deployed to key locations around the UK to allow armed police officers to patrol other sites.
There are more than 640 additional armed cops on the beat in England and Wales, compared to this time last year - taking the total to just over 7,000 across the two countries. That's one officer for every eight thousand people.
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Credit: PA
But roughly 92 percent of police aren't armed. The ones who are, are usually stationed at airports, nuclear sites, on protection duties or deployed with British Transport Police or in an Armed Response Vehicle (ARV). Those ARV's have a target to respond to an imminent threat within 20 minutes or less.
The Manchester bombing was sadly just a few months after London had been the scene of another terror attack. Khalid Masood drove a car into pedestrians along the Westminster Bridge. The 52-year-old ditched the car and fatally stabbed unarmed police officer Keith Palmer, before the attacker was shot dead.
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PC Keith Palmer became the 93rd British police officer to be fatally stabbed or shot dead in the line of duty in 117 years. That doesn't include officers who have been fatally assaulted or run over by a vehicle.
What these two events show, along with other recent incidents in Sweden, France and Germany, is that attacks can happen at any time, by any means, anywhere.
It begs the question: should all British police be armed to be able to respond to a threat which we're told is imminent?
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LADbible has spoken to two people who have worked for, or are currently serving as police officers in the UK to hear what they think.
Against: Former UK Police Officer Bob Morgan
Mr Morgan was an officer for 23 years with the Metropolitan Police and he says pretty much every arrest was resolved without an injury to the person or himself. But he told LADbible he did have one close call: "The most serious risk was arresting a guy for burglary. It turned out the other thing he had done that day was an armed robbery and he still had the gun on him, which we did not know at the time."
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Bob now works as a social commentator and believes that a move to increase armed police won't necessarily mean the streets will be safer. He said: "Other countries who have fully armed police still have terrorism problems - France is a nearby example. Arming all police is likely to lead to an increase in police shootings through mistake."
He believes that vehicle attacks like the ones which unfolded in London, Nice, Germany and Sweden wouldn't have been stopped by armed officers.
For: UK Police Officer who wishes to remain anonymous
A serving British police officer says that routinely arming cops across England and Wales would be beneficial. They told LADbible: "Officers are becoming involved and confronted with extremely violent offenders often brandishing knives, swords, firearms, tasers and other potentially lethal weapons. This will only increase as our society becomes more violent and weapons are readily accessible at the click of a mouse.
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"What deterrent is an unarmed police officer carrying a baton and pepper spray? Violent or vulnerable adults whether high on alcohol or drugs will have a go. Police officers are more vulnerable now than at any time in the history of policing."
Credit: PA
This officer says there have been several occasions where they have been thankful to have been armed. They said: "Police officers when attending calls generally have very little information prior to arriving at the scene.
"Our equipment can best be described as a tool box. In it we have communication skills, handcuffs, baton, restraints, spray and firearms.
"You use what is appropriate in the circumstances which can be determined by a number of factors, including type of incident, the demeanour of the subject, right up to what kind of weapon is being used."
Where to go from here?
Steve Lloyd is the Trust Manager for the Police Roll of Honour Trust, a charity which pays tribute to the men and women who have lost their lives in the line of duty. He said the issue of arming police is always highlighted after a major incident.
He told LADbible: "We are in favour of anything that will safeguard the public and therefore help protect the police officers themselves and their colleagues.
"Traditionally, the British role model had generally been unarmed policing - it's something that has worked up until the threat level changed.
"The British police service will do whatever the British public and the government of the day tell them to do. If the public decide we want our police to be armed then we'll go with it."
British Transport Police laying flowers where PC Keith Palmer was stabbed. (Credit: PA)
Steve said that there's no way to completely protect officers
and the public from coming in harm's way. Bullet and stab-proof vests have weak
spots and while tasers are a non-lethal weapon, the user has to be close
enough to the target for it to work.
As a result of the Westminster attack, as well as other terror incidents where vehicles were used as weapons, the UK's National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) announced it will begin training more armed officers for address this threat.
NPCC's Simon Chesterman released a statement saying: "Prior to the terrorist lorry attack in Nice last July, where more than 80 people were killed and hundreds more seriously injured, firearms officers had the option of shooting at a moving vehicle but the national guidance discouraged that. It was felt shooting at a moving vehicle could increase the risk to the public.
"In light of vehicles being used as weapons by terrorists, the guidance was revised and it is now an accepted tactic that could be used in incidents such as those seen more recently in Sweden and Westminster."
This will be a much more common sight across the UK
After the Paris terror attacks in 2015, where 130 people were killed, a poll was conducted to see if Britons thought the UK should change its approach to arming all officers. It found that 58 percent were supportive of having officers armed.
BMG Research's Michael Turner stated: "Across all ages, and the entire country, the vast majority of residents feel that officers are not suitably prepared for an attack similar to that seen in Paris. Consequently, the results also show strong support for officers to be routinely armed in a way that is perhaps most commonly seen by Britons in continental Europe."
It's worth noting that the Manchester terror attack wouldn't have been prevented by officers being armed. Similarly, in Paris, a policeman was ambushed by a gunman on the Champs Élysées in April, showing that being armed won't solve all safety problems.
France's national police are armed with custom SIG Sauer firearms or semi-automatic weapons, yet the country still suffers fatal attacks.
What do you think?
Featured Image Credit: PA