The attacker, 36, stabbed passers-by with a Japanese saber-like sword. The most seriously injured are two police officers. Investigators have ruled out terrorism and are investigating the man to see if he has a history of mental disorders
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A 13 year old boy dies after being attacked by a man armed with katana, a Japanese sabre-like sword, in the eastern suburbs of London, early Tuesday morning.
The young man died from his injuries shortly after being taken to hospital. They remained four other people were injuredincluding two police officers who are said to be in serious but not life-threatening conditions.
According to what was reported by witnesses and the London police, the 36-year-old man attacked passers-by in and around a Hainault metro stationa neighborhood in the London borough of Redbridge, for about 20 minutes before 7 am.
The attacker was arrested by police who arrived on the scene after a report “of a vehicle entering a house” in Thurlow Gardens, not far from the site of the attack. The man, in fact, would have been driving a black van, which was found visibly damaged, before getting out of the vehicle and starting stabbing people, apparently at random.
Police are investigating to see if the suspect has a history of mental disorders. For the moment it was excluding the terrorism trail and the presence of accomplices. The subway stop was closed and public transport was diverted to leave the area free.
Residents’ testimonies
Several residents of the street where the suspect abandoned the vehicle witnessed his movements from the window of their home. As reported by the Guardian, a woman said she saw the man in front of her house, next to a corpseThat he brandished the katana in front of two unarmed police officers and an ambulance.
“He was brandishing his sword and trying to attack the police, but then they sprayed him and he ran away,” he said. “He shouted at the police and the ambulance: ‘Do you believe in God?’. We were very scared and tried to hide and not be seen from the window, because it was right next to our house.”
Another witness said he heard shouts before seeing a man dressed in yellow jumping some fences around 7am. “I heard screaming. The shouts sounded like those of the police, like when they order someone to stop, to kneel down or something. It was like, ‘Stop where you are, put it down, put it down.'”
“I looked out the back window because the noise was coming from there, and I saw a guy in a yellow suit jumping some fences… Then he went into an alley as if he was returning to the street. And I saw a policeman and a policewoman chasing him and they shouted at him to stop,” added the witness.
The reactions of politicians
The prime minister Rishi Sunak said: “This is a shocking incident. My thoughts are with those affected and their families. I would like to thank the emergency services for their continued response and pay tribute to the extraordinary courage shown by the police at the scene. Such violence has no place on our streets.”
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan shared a statement on “absolutely devastated” by the news. “I remain in constant contact with the commissioner. A man has been arrested and the area has been secured. Police are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident. There will be further reassurance patrols in the area. Police officers and emergency services have showed the best of our city: running towards danger to protect others and I thank them from the bottom of my heart“, the post reads.
Both Khan and the Home Secretary James Cleverly they invited people to “Don’t speculate or share footage online and to provide relevant information to the police.”
