A woman has died and five others were injured in a knife attack in a central part of London, the police said Thursday.
Advertisement
“I only saw the victim and the girl with the arm stabbed from that group”, one witness called Michael told the MailOnline.
Student Megan Sharrock, 18, looked out her window and saw someone lying on the sidewalk under a blanket.
Armed police arrested a 19-year-old man at Russell Square after he attacked a woman, who was in her 60s and who died from her injuries at the scene.
The Met’s assistant commissioner for specialist operations, Mark Rowley, said the force’s homicide command was leading the investigation into the attack, with support from the counter-terrorism unit.
Police later said he has left hospital and is in custody at a south London police station.
What was the cause of the attack? .
A Met Police spokesman said: “We continue to focus our lines of inquiry on mental health while retaining an open mind regarding the motive”.
He later said they increasingly believe that the tragic act was triggered due to a “mental health issue”.
“At this time, we believe this was a spontaneous attack and that the victims were selected at random”.
The five injured included three women and two men. Those injured are Australian, American, Israeli and British.
What is the response to the attack? .
London Mayor Sadiq Khan urged the public to keep calm and remain vigilant, and encouraged people to be the first line of defense against any form of attack.
Russell Square, where the attack occurred, is less than one mile from the University of London and about two miles from Buckingham Palace, an area frequented by visitors and tourists.
He added: “A man was arrested at the scene”.
“As a precautionary measure, Londoners will wake up this morning to notice an increased presence on the streets of officers, including armed officers today”.
Terror fears have been heightened after a terrifying series of brutal attacks in France and Germany last month.
Advertisement
Since August 2014, the terror threat level in Britain has been “severe” – the second highest level, meaning an attack is “highly likely”.
