LONDON (TIP): The 41-year-old Labour politician was attacked earlier Thursday, June 16 in the village of Birstall, within the region she represents, and later died of her injuries.
The BBC reports that Cox was both stabbed and shot in the attack. The broadcaster says a man has been arrested and police are not looking for any other suspects.
A second person, a man, was also injured in the attack and is expected to survive, The Associated Press reports, citing West Yorkshire Police.
parliament, has died after being shot in a village near Leeds
Cox held a regularly-scheduled drop-in session where her constituents could meet with her, The Guardian reports, and the stabbing and shooting occurred nearby.
Police have not commented on a motive for the attack. The U.K is currently preparing for a high-stakes, hotly contested referendum next week.
Voters will choose whether to stay in the European Union or leave it – the so-called “Brexit.”
In the wake of the attack on Cox, the intense campaigning over the issue has been suspended.
Cox was campaigning for the “remain” side, the AP reports, while noting that it’s unclear if the attack was related to the EU debate.
Before being elected to Parliament last year, Cox was an aid worker and charity campaigner, The Financial Times reports.
Cox, who had a working-class background and went to Cambridge, was a head of policy at Oxfam, an adviser to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and an adviser to an anti-slavery campaign.
Voters will decide on the “Brexit” question in a June 23 referendum. Postal voting forms are available ahead of time.
In Parliament, she was vocal about the need to find an end to the Syrian Civil War and advocated greater British military involvement to protect civilians in that conflict. Colleagues knew her as personable and independent-minded, the FT writes.
In her first speech on the Parliament floor last year, Cox celebrated immigration and diversity, praised her home community as a picturesque manufacturing hub and said she looked forward to passionately championing continued EU membership. She closed by saying, “I am proud that I was made in Yorkshire and I am proud of the things we make in Yorkshire. Britain should be proud of that, too. I look forward to representing the great people of Batley and Spen here over the next five years.”
Cox leaves behind a husband and two young children.
#Jo #Cox death: Alleged killer Tommy Mair 'bought gun-making manual from far-right neo-Nazi group' https://t.co/d8fEKdKE0r
— ملک (@Malik__73) June 17, 2016