A Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, David Amess, has died after he was stabbed during a meeting with constituents at a church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.
A man was arrested and a knife recovered, with police saying they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.
Amess, 69, was attacked during a regular meeting with constituents at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, a seaside town east of London.
Amess was married and had five children.
Amess had been a member of Parliament for Southend West, which includes Leigh-on-Sea, since 1997, and was a lawmaker since 1983. He was a prominent campaigner against abortion and on animal welfare issues, the BBC reported.
Politicians from across the political spectrum expressed shock. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer tweeted saying that it was "horrific and deeply shocking news."
"Thinking of David, his family and his staff," Starmer tweeted.
Former Prime Minister David Cameron, a Conservative, tweeted: Very alarming and worrying news reports coming from Leigh-on-Sea. My thoughts and prayers are with Sir David Amess and his family.
Violence against British politicians is rare, but in June 2016 Labour Party lawmaker Jo Cox was fatally stabbed and shot in her northern England constituency. A far-right extremist was convicted of her murder.
British lawmakers are protected by armed police when they are inside Parliament, but have no such protection in their constituencies.
Two other British lawmakers have been attacked this century during their surgeries, regular meetings where constituents can present concerns and complaints.
Labour legislator Stephen Timms was stabbed in the stomach and injured in May 2010 by a female student radicalized by online sermons from an al-Qaida-linked preacher.
In 2000, Liberal Democrat lawmaker Nigel Jones and his aide Andrew Pennington were attacked by a man wielding a sword during such a meeting. Pennington was killed and Jones injured in the attack in Cheltenham, England.
With inputs from PTI
