(London) A 14-year-old boy was killed and four other people injured on Tuesday in east London by a man armed with a sword, quickly arrested by police who ruled out a terrorist act at this stage.
Posted at 6:19 a.m.
Updated at 9:58 a.m.
Marie HEUCLIN
France Media Agency
This attack comes against a backdrop of an increase in stabbing attacks in the United Kingdom and two days before local elections in the British capital, where the conservative opposition is very critical of the security record of Labor mayor Sadiq Khan.
“It is with great sadness that I can confirm that one of those injured in the attack, a (14) year-old boy, died” after being taken to hospital, announced a local police official. Stuart Bell in a statement to the press, calling the attack “truly horrific.”
He also specified that the four injured people, including two police officers, had been hospitalized, but that “their lives did not appear to be in danger”. They are still in the hospital, he added.
Police were called shortly before 7 a.m. (2 a.m. Eastern) to this area of northeast London near Hainault tube station by residents saying people had been stabbed.
A 36-year-old man armed with a sword was arrested shortly after “and is currently in detention”, police said, specifying that he had been hit by an electric pulse gun and arrested “22 minutes later” the first call the police.
“Shocking”
The investigation is in its early stages, but authorities are not looking for any other suspects, Mr. Bell said, paying tribute to the “incredible courage” of the police and emergency services.
Images posted on social media and picked up by British media show a white, lightly bearded man, dressed in black pants and a yellow hoodie, sword in hand, walking erratically in front of houses, while police cars surround the scene.
Witnesses said they heard screams and screams. A resident described seeing a body on the ground from her apartment and hearing the man shout to police officers, “Do you believe in God?” »
Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak denounced a “shocking incident”. “My thoughts are with those affected and their families,” he wrote on X, adding that “such violence has no place on our streets.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was “absolutely devastated” by the attack.
“After the horrible scenes in Hainault this morning”, the king’s “thoughts and prayers” “are with all those who have been affected, in particular the family of the young deceased victim”, said a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace.
Spike in knife attacks
Stabbing attacks are on the rise in the United Kingdom, where mobilization is increasing to ask the government to act. According to official figures, they increased by 7% last year to almost 50,000 in England and Wales.
In London, they skyrocketed by 20% with 14,577 attacks recorded, returning more or less to their level before the COVID-19 pandemic. Eighteen miners were killed last year.
The subject is an angle of attack for the Conservatives against the Mayor of London, currently campaigning for a third term.
On Monday, Rishi Sunak said the increase in knife crime in London “highlighted the reality of the Labor Party” when it is in charge.
The government promised last year to ban certain types of knives or machetes, without realizing its ambition for the moment.
“It’s not about the elections. There is a family who lost a child and I think we should focus on that,” Sadiq Khan responded on Tuesday, when asked on Sky News about the impact of this attack two days before the vote.
