British MP shot, stabbed in English village

Jo Cox, a Labour member of the British parliament, was in critical condition Thursday from gunshot and stab wounds after being attacked on the street in a village in northern England, according to police and media reports.

The 41-year-old mother of two was left lying and bleeding on the pavement in Birstall, 200 miles north of London. The incident occurred near a library where she was meeting with constituents, the BBC reports. Cox was airlifted by helicopter to a hospital.

West Yorkshie police, without identifying the MP by name, said a 52-year-old man was arrested in connection with the attack.

The Press Association quoted witness Hithem Ben Abdallah as saying Cox got involved in a scuffle between two men.

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.”

Witnesses tell the Yorkshire Post that an onlooker tackled a man to the floor and tried to take a gun from him. Moments later, a second shot was heard.

British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted he was “very concerned about reports Jo Cox has been injured. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jo and her family.”

The official campaigns on next week's referendum on whether Britain should leave the European Union were suspending following the attack. Cox supports staying in the EU.