The man, who was said to be wielding a machete, reportedly said “This is for Syria” after he launched the attack at Leytonstone station in east London.
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Police confirmed that they had taken a suspect into custody, but did not identify him.
One man suffered serious knife injuries and was in the hospital in stable condition.
“He was kicking him so many times with [his] right leg and after a while he took his knife out and used it on his body”, said Patel. This is mainly due to the threat the authorities say is posed by Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq and their encouragement of supporters to carry out attacks in their homelands.
Officials haven’t determined a motive, but said they’re treating it as a “terrorist incident” and not a terror attack.
Anyone who was in the vicinity of Leytonstone Tube station and saw anything suspicious at about 7pm last night should call the anti-terror hotline on 0800 789 321.
“We are treating this as a terrorist incident”, said Commander Richard Walton of the Metropolitan Police’s Counter-Terrorism Command, according to the BBC. Bystanders reportedly shouted at him, and one tried to throw a bottle, before he was taken to a waiting police van.
The following video, uploaded a few hours after the attack, shows the suspect being confronted by police officers.
Laurynas Godvisa said: “So as I was going to Leytonstone station was dressed to go to Christmas dinner with people from work”.
“I saw a lot of people running, but I ignored it and kept walking to get my train”. I was so scared I ran for my life.
“One guy came to me and said that someone got stabbed”.
Patel said the man was attacked as he went down the stairs from the platform at the same time as the assailant. She would not confirm whether police were seeking anyone else in relation to the attack, saying only that police inquiries were ongoing. A large pool of blood is on the ground near the exit gates.
Police said they were called at 7.06pm to reports that a number of people had been stabbed at the station and a man was threatening people with a knife.
“Met officers attended the scene”.
Witnesses to a knife attack in a London tube station have described their horror as a man began punching and stabbing travellers shouting: “This is for Syria!”.
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One person sustained serious injuries, but they were not considered to be life-threatening. Met officers attended the scene. The stabbing is being treated as a “terrorist incident”, the London police said.
