An extraordinary week in the United Kingdom Parliament took a dramatic turn Tuesday morning, with reports claiming the Palace was placed under security alert as an intruder attempted to make his way past the site’s gates.

Witnesses who took to the Twitter micro-blogging platform reported seeing police rushing to the main Carriage Gate entrance, scene of the 2017 Westminster terror attack where unarmed Police Constable Keith Palmer was stabbed to death by Islamist extremist Khalid Masood.

A scream was heard, and a young male was tasered before being arrested and led away by police officers. Among the four officers immediately on the scene were two armed men from the protection squad patrolling the palace and two ordinary constables, one carrying a baton.

Scotland Yard, the headquarters of London policing, released a statement confirming the basic facts of the event without giving any further detail.

They said: “A man was detained and arrested by Carriage Gates inside the Palace of Westminster on suspicion of trespassing at a protected site, at around 11.55hrs on Tuesday, 11 December.

“A Taser was deployed. Enquiries into the circumstances continue.”

While the Palace of Westminster — which is home to both houses of the UK Parliament — has been the target of several terror attacks in the past and is the scene of an ongoing anti-Brexit demonstration, there has been no suggestion the arrested intruder Tuesday is related to either of those ongoing security concerns.

This story is developing