A shop security guard has described how he overpowered a knifeman as he stabbed an 11-year-old girl and her mother, 34, in a “horrific” and apparently random attack in London’s busy Leicester Square in front of shocked workers and tourists.
The woman and her daughter were taken to hospital by paramedics after a man, not thought to have been known to them, was disarmed and pinned to the ground while police rushed to the scene.
Witnesses said the girl was stabbed as she was grabbed and held in a headlock. She suffered serious injuries requiring further treatment, though her condition is not said to be life-threatening. Her mother suffered minor injuries in the incident which is not thought to be terrorism related at this stage, the Metropolitan police said. A 32-year-old man was arrested at the scene with police not looking for anyone else.
The security guard, who works at TWG Tea shop in the Leicester Square and gave his name as Abdullah, 29, described how he “jumped on” and took a knife from the man who he said stabbed the child. He said his colleagues had administered first aid.
“I heard a scream,” he told the PA news agency. “I saw there was one person, roughly [in their] mid-30s or early 30s, and he was like stabbing a kid – I jumped on him, held the hand in which he was [carrying] a knife, and just put him down on the floor and just held him and took the knife away from him.
“Then a couple of more people joined as well, and we just held him until the police came, it took maybe three to four minutes for the police to arrive and then they just took him into custody.”
He added: “I just saw a kid getting stabbed and I just tried to save her. It’s my duty to just save them.”
Another witness said the suspect focused the attack on the girl, putting her in a headlock and stabbing her. Desmond, 45, who performs as Darth Vader on the square said: “When I looked to my side I saw a young man … was stabbing her several [times] with a knife.
“It was so terrible, I’ve never seen a thing like that. I was heartbroken, I saw the woman was screaming with all her strength.”
He said the suspect in the attack was a white, skinny male wearing a black T-shirt and jeans. A man who did not wish to be named, said he saw the suspect earlier in the day “standing, doing nothing, eating and talking to himself as I saw”.
A police cordon has been put in place surrounding the double doors of the TWG Tea shop.
Ezat Katerzis, a manger with tour bus company Toot buses, said the attacker appeared to be “mentally disturbed”. He told the Guardian: “It looked like he had something missing. He just stabbed the girl out of the blue. She was with her family.”
He said the girl appeared to have been stabbed near her right eye. “The blood was pouring out of her face,” he said. “She was European looking, but I couldn’t really tell because there was blood all over her face. They looked like tourists. She will survive. They picked her up and she stood [on her] feet. They took her inside the shop [TWG Tea]. And the paramedic came.”
He added: “The knife was on the floor. It was only a small knife. There was a lot of blood. It was on the floor. On both her hands and on her legs.”
Katerzis added: “I think the guy was mentally disturbed. He is only a skinny guy. He didn’t say anything when they arrested him and took him to the van. It was like he was on drugs or something.
“I don’t think it was a robbery. He just started stabbing her for no reason.”
Joy Akan, who also works for Toot buses, filmed the suspect on a phone after his arrest. The video showed a lightly built man in a black T-shirt with an Abbey Road logo on the front. He was wearing black tracksuit trousers. The video was time stamped at 11.41am.
DCS Christina Jessah, in charge of policing for Westminster, described it as a “horrific incident”. She paid tribute to “the members of the public, including staff from local businesses, who bravely intervened in this incident. They put themselves at risk and showed the best of London in doing so.
“An urgent investigation is now ongoing and detectives are working to establish the details around exactly what happened.”
Witnesses, or anyone with footage or photos of the incident, are asked to call 101 or to contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111, giving the reference 2745/12AUG.
Source: theguardian.com
