June 16, 2016

Jo Cox, Member of British Parliament, Dead After Being Shot and Stabbed

The lawmaker was reportedly shot three times and stabbed repeatedly.

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British MP Jo Cox has died after being shot and stabbed while talking to her constituents in West Yorkshire on Thursday, the Guardian reports.

A 52-year-old man was taken into custody. The motivation behind the attack remains unclear, but officials are reportedly looking into witness testimony that a man yelled “Britain first” before shooting and killing Cox.

“Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy, and a zest for life that would exhaust most people,” Brendan Cox, her husband, wrote in a statement.

“She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her. Hate doesn’t have a creed, race or religion, it is poisonous.”

In recent weeks, Cox was vocal about the upcoming Brexit vote, advocating for Britain to remain in Europe. As news of the attack broke on Thursday, British Prime Minister David Cameron said it was appropriate to suspend campaigning for the July 23 referendum.

British politicians, including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, expressed shock over the tragedy:

Cox was elected into office in 2015, and previously served as the head of policy for Oxfam. She also chaired the Parliamentary Friends of Syria group. In April, she addressed her fellow lawmakers to call on Britain to accept child refugees into the country:

This is a breaking news post. We will update when more information becomes available.

 

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