Just hours before the attack, London’s police chief said that he would deploy an additional 600 armed officers across the capital to protect against attacks.
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City police responded late Wednesday to reports of a man attacking people with a knife in Russell Square.
One of whom is an American man who suffered a stab wound to his chest.
Police said earlier that the suspect was transferred to a London police station on Thursday morning after he was treated in hospital for unspecified injuries.
The London Metropolitan Police chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe on Sunday warned a terror attack in Britain was a case of “when, not if”. Detectives from the force’s murder and terrorism squads interviewed the suspect, his family and witnesses and searched properties, and found no evidence of radicalization, Rowley said.
Rowley said the attacker was a Norwegian citizen of Somali ancestry, but that his background did not appear to be “relevant to the motivation for his actions”.
Wagner taught in the summer session at the university’s London Study Program.
Another American was among the victims injured in the attack, along with Australian, Israeli and British citizens.
This was a tragic incident resulting in the death of one woman and five others being injured.
Though it’s located in central London – which is usually busy on summer nights – Russell Square isn’t particularly bustling when compared to other nearby neighborhoods, which are home to more restaurants and bars.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan praised the police for their swift action in containing the situation as he reassured the public that “London is safe”.
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The victims are thought to have been “selected at random” in the “spontaneous” attack, police have said. According to police, that person, along with three others, were released from the hospital on Thursday. Although counter-terrorism officers were called to the scene soon after the stabbing, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said the investigation was focused on the suspect’s mental health.
