Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said the investigation “increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental-health issues”.
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A London stabbing attack on Wednesday left one American dead and five other people injured in Russell Square, where a Norwegian national of Somali origin was subsequently arrested. In a city with vivid memories of the July 7, 2005, attacks on public transportation – two of which struck near Russell Square – she immediately suspected that an attack had occurred.
Consular assistance has been provided to the man and one of the women and DFAT was attempting to contact the other woman involved to also offer assistance. Police are searching addresses in north and south London, he said.
Rowley said as a precautionary measure, the number of officers on the streets on Thursday have been increased.
Police have not established a terror link to the attack.
Those injured have been confirmed as British, American, Australian and Israeli.
Police arrested a man around 10:40 p.m. after one of the officers fired his Taser.
“We should be proud of them and the British tradition of using the minimum necessary force”, Rowley added.
“The fact that they’re even mentioning terrorism leads me to believe that some of the witnesses and some of the victims may have said that this guy may have made some statements while he was carrying out the attack”, former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Bobby Chacon said.
Authorities say Londoners should expect to wake up to a heavier police presence in light of the stabbing spree.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan called for the public to remain “calm and vigilant”.
Three women and three men sustained injuries in the attack – one of those women, an American understood to be in her 60s, died at the scene.
The attack comes just after officials announced plans to deploy an additional 600 armed cops in London to protect against the threat of terrorist attacks.
“Our church remains open and welcoming to all, as we seek to live out the peace of Christ in the heart of London”.
British authorities are urging the public to be vigilant following Islamic State terror attacks across Europe.
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Since then, dozens of plots have been foiled and there have been smaller-scale attacks, such as the killing of an off-duty soldier on a street in southeast London by two people in May 2013.
