London (Parliament News) – A 13-year-old boy dies and four others are injured in a sword attack in North-East London. The suspect, a 36-year-old man, was arrested after a 20-minute rampage near Hainault underground station.
An attack by a man armed with a blade has left a 13-year-old boy dead and four others wounded in east London, including two police officers who upheld serious wounds. The Metropolitan police stated the man, 36, had been arrested after they were called “to information of a vehicle being moved into a house” in Thurlow Gardens, near Hainault underground station, momentarily before 7 am on Tuesday. The man is supposed to have then penetrated people during a happening lasting about 20 minutes in and around the tube station.
What Prompted the Brutal Assault Near Hainault Underground Station?
According to the Guardian, the Metropolitan police conveyed that the suspect was apprehended after being Tasered, 22 minutes after the first 999 emergency call. Residents stated they were woken by shouts and screams and several emergency vehicles speeding to the scene.
Ch Supt Stuart Bell stated: “The events of this morning are very horrific. I cannot even start to imagine how those involved must be feeling.” Bell confirmed the boy died as a result of his wounds: “It is with great sadness that I confirm one of those wounded in the incident, a 13-year-old boy, has died from their injuries. “He was taken to hospital after being stabbed and sadly died a short while after. The child’s family are being supported firstly by my local officers and now with some specialist officers.”
What Were the Circumstances Surrounding the Fatal Incident?
Bell expressed that the injuries mourned by two police officers were “significant” and would need surgery but were not life-threatening. Bell stated two of the three members of the public were still in the hospital. He praised the “incredible bravery” of emergency service workers who rushed to the scene.
After an examination by specialist officers, the Met stated it did not believe the incident was terrorism-related and thought the suspect acted alone.
Mobile phone footage of the incident revealed a casually dressed man with a long knife, resembling a sword. The incident occurred during morning rush hour and Hainault underground station was shut.
Why Did the Suspect Initiate the Violent Assault?
Police stated they believed a vehicle was driven into a house. This was then observed by a man carrying out a series of marauding attacks with a sword, with targets selected seemingly at random. In one street, Laing Close, a black van was visible with its front window damaged and back doors open.
How Are Residents and Witnesses Coping with the Aftermath?
One resident, from Laing Close, stated she saw a man standing outside her home next to a body and brandishing a dagger in front of two unarmed police officers and an ambulance.
“He was wielding his sword trying to attack the police but then they sprayed him and he ran away,” she stated. “He was shouting at the police: ‘Do you believe in God?’, also at the ambulance. “We were very scared and trying to hide and not show ourselves through the window because he was standing right next to our house.”
Another witness stated he heard shrieking before witnessing a man dressed in yellow jumping over some fences at about 7 am. “I heard shouting, I heard shrieking – I thought: ‘Who would be screaming at this time in the morning?’ The shrieking chimed like the police – you know when they are summoning a person to stop or to get on their knees or something – it was like that. It was like: ‘Stop where you are, put that down, put that down’ – that kind of thing.
“I looked out the back window because the noise was reaching from back there, I saw a bloke wrapped in yellow jumping over some fences … then he went down an alley like he was going back onto the street again. I noticed a policeman and policewoman – normal coppers with the short-sleeved shirts – who pursued after him and they were shouting for him to put it down.”