British lawmaker dies after shot and stabbed, man arrested

British police say a man has been arrested in the death of a lawmaker who was shot and stabbed. Police will not seek anyone else as a suspect in the attack.

British lawmaker Jo Cox was initially shot and critically injured in her northern England constituency on Thursday, prompting both sides in the debate over British membership in the European Union to suspend campaigning.

Prime Minister David Cameron said he was cancelling a planned speech in Gibraltar after "the terrible attack."

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Jo and her family," Cameron tweeted.

West Yorkshire police said a 52-year-old man was arrested after the attack in Birstall, near Leeds. Police said a man in his late 40s to early 50s also suffered slight injuries.

Police identified the victim as a woman in her 40s, who was in critical condition at Leeds General Infirmary. The Labour Party confirmed that Cox, 41, had been hurt. She had been due to meet with constituents in Birstall on Thursday.

Violence against politicians is rare in Britain, as are gun attacks, and figures from all parts of the political spectrum expressed deep shock.

Both the Vote Leave and Britain Stronger in Europe campaigns suspended activity ahead of next week's vote over whether Britain should remain a part of the 28-member bloc at the news.

The rival sides have been canvassing feverishly ahead of what is expected to be a close vote and Cox had been campaigning for the "remain" camp.

It wasn't clear if the attack on her was linked to the EU debate.

Britain's Press Association news agency quoted eyewitness Hithem Ben Abdallah as saying Cox got involved in a scuffle between two men in Birstall, 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of London.

Abdallah said one of the men was fighting with Cox and then a gun went off twice and "she fell between two cars and I came and saw her bleeding on the floor."

Clarke Rothwell, who runs a nearby cafe, told the BBC he believed Cox had been shot and stabbed multiple times.

"Three times she was shot, the initial time which then she dropped to the floor and two more times," he said. "The third time he got close proximity he shot her around the head area."

"In the meantime he was stabbing her as well. He was stabbing her with his knife."

Shopkeeper Sanjeev Kumar told the BBC said he saw a woman lying on the ground "bleeding from the mouth and nose," with two women trying to help her.

After around 15 minutes, witnesses said emergency services arrived and tended to her with a drip.

Cox, a former worker for charities who is married with two young children, was elected to the House of Commons in the May 2015 general election.

She has been one of the most outspoken lawmakers on the subject of the Syrian civil war, and has been critical of Britain's reluctance to deepen its military involvement against the Islamic State group as part of efforts to end it.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he was "utterly shocked by the news of the attack on Jo Cox. The thoughts of the whole Labour Party are with her and her family at this time."

In the past two decades, two other British lawmakers have been attacked during their "surgeries," regular meetings where constituents can present concerns and complaints.

A Labour legislator 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.

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Shawn Pogatchnik in Dublin contributed.