Chilling account of the moment MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed in the street
The father of Jo Cox MP's assistant tells of his daughter's desperate bid to help her boss as she lay dying in the street
Jo Cox was pounced on by her killer who lay waiting armed with a shotgun and blade, a key witness has claimed.
The 41-year-old mum-of-two was gunned down and stabbed with a foot-long knife in her constituency in broad daylight in a sickening attack yesterday lunchtime.
Her horrified assistant Fazila Aswat watched as the killer twice pulled the trigger - despite Mrs Cox already lying seriously injured on the floor in a pool of blood.
Cops are currently quizzing mentally ill loner Tommy Mair who is accused of shooting the MP with a hand-made gun.
It’s believed special police units who searched the murder suspect’s house have today found samples of Nazi regalia and far-right literature.
Mrs Aswat's father Ghulam Maniyar has told how his daughter believes the gunman targeted Mrs Cox by waiting outside her surgery.
"It happened so quickly," he said.
"Jo was sitting in the back seat.
"She got out and my daughter parked the car and when she came out she was on the floor.
"She didn't know at the time how bad the injury was.
"[The gunman] tried to chase someone away who tried to tackle them and then he came back again and shot Jo twice when Fazila was with her.
"He showed Fazila a knife to her but he didn't attack her.
"He then disappeared.
"Fazila thinks it was well planned. He was waiting for her. He knew when her surgery was because it was well publicised."
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It emerged this morning that the 52-year-old had bought a manual from the Neo-Nazi National Alliance that gave instructions on how to build a gun.
He was a longstanding supporter of the neo-Nazi group and supported the white supremacist apartheid regime in South Africa.
Mrs Cox's last words were "my pain is too much" before she died outside her surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire.
Covered in Mrs Cox's blood, Mrs Aswat desperately tried to keep the MP conscious as she waited for help.
Mr Maniyar added: "Fazila said 'get up Jo', and Jo said ' I've got too much pain. I can't make it'.
"I think those were the last words Jo spoke. She could not do anything else. She tried to comfort her."
The 41-year-old MP for Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire Jo Cox was gunned down on her way to hold her surgeries.
She died after being shot three times and knifed another seven times shortly after 1pm on Thursday.
Mr Maniyar said Mrs Cox "was like a daughter" to him and called him "uncle";.
He said Mrs Aswat is suffering from shock following the tragedy.
"It's shocking," he told ITV News.
"Not just for my daughter but the whole community.
"We were living in harmony in the community, English community, Asian community.
"This news is shocking for the whole community.
"My daughter, it will take time for her to recover."
Yesterday a witness of the fatal attack Dry cleaner Aamir Tahir was quoted saying: "Apparently the guy who did it shouted Britain first'.
"If I had been there I would have tackled him."
Britain First denied that Mair was associated with the political party and said they "condemn" the killing.
But a sign last night hung in the window of the Dry Clean 2U store close to the murder scene read:
"Please note. I did NOT tackle the gunman. NO-ONE shouted Britain first at ANY TIME."
Mrs Cox's distraught husband posted a heartbreaking photo of his late wife just hours after she was shot dead in the street by a gunman.
He paid tribute to her in a touching tribute which said: "Today is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives.
"More difficult, more painful, less joyful, less full of love."
He added: "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 every day 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 poisionous.
"Jo would have no regrets about her life, she lived every day of it to the full."
Today he tweeted his 11,000 followers a link to a page which raised £50,000 in three hours.
The money will donated to three charities which were closest to his generous wife's heart and will protect people in Syria, tackle loneliness and fight extremism: The Royal Voluntary Service, HOPE not hate and The White Helmets.
Mrs Cox, who was elected to parliament in May last year, was the first female MP to ever be murdered.
Before entering Parliament she was a vocal campaigner for charity Oxfam.
The Cambridge graduate had also fought to see the UK provide aid to help Syrian refugees fleeing the country’s civil war in a short but significant career.
Last night, a memorial service was held for Jo at St Joseph's Church in Birstall.
It has been revealed cops were in the process of boosting security for MP Jo Cox in the months leading up to her murder.
She had reported receiving a series of persistent harassing messages to police.
Apparently she had "thought little of them" until the "volume and frequency stepped up".
Today the PM and the Labour leader said "our nation is in shock" as they made an unprecedented joint statement to call for unity, close to the spot where the mum of two was slaughtered yesterday.
Joined by Commons Speaker John Bercow, the pair leader paid their respects to the fallen MP and laid flowers in Birstall, West Yorkshire this afternoon.
Mr Corbyn said he had asked the Prime Minister to recall MPs to Parliament on Monday to pay tribute to their 41-year-old colleague, and that this had been agreed.
The House of Commons is currently not sitting due to the EU referendum on June 23.
Speaking about Jo Cox's death Mr Cameron said: "Two children have lost their mother and a husband has lost his loving wife.
"Parliament has lost one of its most passionate campaigners and the nation is shocked.
"Today our nation is rightly shocked. And I think it is a moment to stand back and think about some of the things that are so important about our country."
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