UK lawmaker David Amess was stabbed to death in a church on Friday during a meeting with voters from his constituency, in an attack that politicians described as an assault on democracy, writes France24.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has paid tribute to “a fine public servant and a much-loved friend and colleague”.

Amess, a 69-year-old lawmaker from Johnson’s Conservative Party, was attacked at around midday at a meeting at the red-brick Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, east of London.

Police said a 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder. They said they recovered a knife and were not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.

Johnson paid tribute to the murdered lawmaker, lauding him as “one of the kindest, nicest, most gentle people in politics”.