British Labour MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death at Birstall, West Yorkshire, following a constituency meeting. Jo Cox, a mother of two children aged three and five, was allegedly attacked by a man reportedly shouting “Britain first,” a possible reference to a far-right political party, around lunch time on June 16.
The attack took place near the town’s library, where she regularly held advice surgeries. Cox was pronounced dead at 1.48pm on the day of the attack by a doctor with paramedics at the scene. The alleged attacker, later identified as 52-year-old Tommy Mair, is accused of murder, grievous bodily harm, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence and possession of an offensive weapon.
“He shot this lady once, then he shot her again and she fell to the floor. Went over, shot her once more in the face area, somebody tried grabbing, wrestling with him, then he was wielding a knife, a hunting knife,” said local Café owner Clarke Rothwell. “He just started lunging at her with a knife, half a dozen times.”
According to reports, the Jo Cox murder case is being treated as ‘terror-related,’ with Mair declaring in court: “My name is death to traitors. Freedom for Britain.” Jo Cox is the first MP to be murdered for more than a quarter of a century.
Since the attack, many MPs have praised Cox’s dedication and commitment to the Syrian refugees. Cox, who was elected to parliament in 2015, had previously worked internationally as a head of policy and humanitarian campaigning for Oxfam.
“We must now stand up for something better because of someone better. In the name of Jo Cox and all that is decent, we must not let this atrocity intimidate our democracy. We must now work to build a more respectful and united country,” Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, said. “Because this is our time to honor the legacy of the proud Yorkshire lass who dedicated her life to the common good and was so cruelly taken away from us in the prime of her life. Jo Cox, we love you, we salute you and we shall never forget you.”
A memorial fund that was set up in Jo Cox’s honor has raised more than £1 million ($1.47 million) in just three days. The money raised will go to the Royal Voluntary Service, a charity helping the elderly; Hope Not Hate, an anti-fascist advocacy group; and the White Helmets, a politically neutral search-and-rescue group in Syria – three charities that Cox supported.
In a statement released after her murder, Jo Cox’s husband Brendan Cox, said:
“Today is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. More difficult, more painful, less joyful, less full of love.
“I and Jo’s friends and family are going to work every moment of our lives to love and nurture our kids and to fight against the hate that killed Jo.
“Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it everyday of her life with an energy, and a zest for life that would exhaust most people.
“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.
“Jo would have no regrets about her life, she lived every day of it to the full.“
Image: Flickr, Garry Knight
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