Nerve agent used in attempted murder of Russian ex-spy: UK police

Toby Melville | Reuters

Police officers seal off the road on which Russian Sergei Skripal and his daughter have been staying in Salisbury, Britain, March 7, 2018.

British police are treating an incident in which a Russian ex-spy and his daughter fell critically ill as attempted murder by administration of a nerve agent, the head of counter-terrorism policing said on Wednesday.

Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unconscious on Sunday on a bench outside a shopping center in Salisbury, a city in southern England.

“In summary, this is being treated as a major incident involving attempted murder by administration of a nerve agent,” Mark Rowley said in a statement. He declined to give details of the substance used.

“I can also confirm that we believe the two people originally who became unwell were targeted specifically,” Rowley said.