Staci Martin took many pictures during her first trip to London this past week, but there’s one she’ll never forget.
Curious about the police officer standing guard outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, Martin asked for a photograph with him. Soon after, the area would be engulfed in horror, and Keith Palmer, the 48-year-old police officer who smiled politely for her photograph would be dead.
Martin, who is from West Palm Beach, Florida, traveled to London to visit her son who is studying abroad. While taking a tour of the city, her son showed her Parliament. Martin spotted an officer and was intrigued by his hat, so she asked to take a photo.
“I asked the officer if a photo was OK,” Martin told CNN. “He said yes, and I asked him if this happens a lot. He told me, ‘It happens quite a bit.’”
She and her family left to eat lunch a block away. When they were leaving the lunch, the attack happened. The family didn’t see the attack.
“We called an Uber after lunch and when the Uber turned the corner, a man came up to the window yelling at our driver that there was a shooting,” she said. “Initially, it was panic and chaos since it had just happened.”
Back at the hotel later in the day, Martin saw the news about the attack and was wondering if the officer she took a photo in was safe.
“We saw the picture on the news and was like I think that the same officer. We zoomed in on the photo and realized it was Palmer,” she said.
“I want to get this picture to his family and I want people to know what a nice person he was and how fragile life can be.”
CNN’s Christina Zdanowicz contributed to this report