Forensic police officers examine the crime scene AFP
Published 04/30/2024 10:57 | Updated 04/30/2024 11:08
A 13-year-old teenager died and four other people, including two police officers, were injured after a man attacked pedestrians with a sword in east London on Tuesday, 30, police said.
The 36-year-old attacker was arrested, according to police forces, who indicated that the incident “does not appear to be linked to terrorism.” The injured were taken to hospital, said Stuart Bell, a police official.
The two agents underwent surgery for “considerable” injuries, he added, but are now out of danger, as are two other victims. The minor, however, did not survive his injuries.
“It is with great sadness that I can confirm that one of those injured in the attack, a 13-year-old boy, has died. He was taken to hospital after being stabbed and sadly passed away shortly afterwards,” Bell told the press.
Police received a call “just before 7am” to go to a metro station in the Hainault area where, according to witnesses, “several people were stabbed”.
“A man was arrested with a sword,” the statement said, specifying that, according to witnesses, the suspect attacked passersby “and two police officers.”
Images published on social media and collected by British media showed a white man, wearing black pants and a yellow hooded sweatshirt, sword in hand, walking erratically in front of houses, while police cars surrounded the area.
Witnesses reported hearing screams. “The attack does not appear to be linked to terrorism,” said Ade Adelekan, a police official cited in the statement.
Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak criticized a “terrible incident”. “Such violence has no place on our streets,” he wrote on social media site X. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was “absolutely devastated” by the attack.
Knife and sword attacks are on the rise in the UK. According to official data, last year they increased by 7%, to almost 50 thousand, in England and Wales.
In London, they increased by 20%, with 14,577 attacks recorded, returning to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.
Last week, Sunak criticized the London mayor’s security policy, ahead of municipal elections scheduled for this Thursday.
