London Metropolitan Police announced Thursday that a Norwegian national of Somali origin has been arrested on suspicion of murdering an American woman and injuring five others, in an attack on Wednesday night in central London.
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Darlene Horton was spending time overseas with her husband, Richard Wagner, a Florida State University psychology professor who had been teaching in the university’s summer program in England.
An elderly American woman was today stabbed to death and five others, including foreigners, were injured when a suspected mentally ill teen went on a rampage with a knife in the heart of London, in an assault initially feared to be a terror attack.
In a statement after the attack, Florida State University President John Thrasher said: “There are no words to express our heartache over this awful tragedy”. The school said classes had ended and students enrolled in the program had left for the summer.
Florida State University said the couple had planned to return to their home in Tallahassee on Thursday. Police said earlier that she was thought to be in her 60s.
Mayor Sadiq Khan said Londoners should remain “calm and vigilant” following a knife attack on August 3 in a popular tourist area that killed one and injured five. “We are shocked that such senseless violence has touched our own FSU family”. Mr. Rowley said the investigation indicates the attacker had “mental health issues” and “selected [victims] at random”.
London mayor Sadiq Khan urged “calm and vigilance” after knife attack.
In the past year, authorities have said they would boost the number of police trained to handle firearms, as The Wall Street Journal reports, a change prompted by concerns after the Paris terror attack.
The suspect emigrated to the United Kingdom from Norway as a child, said authorities. None of the injured victims had life-threatening injuries.
Just hours before the Russell Square 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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Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley hailed the bravery of firearms officers for detaining the suspect, adding the man was Tasered but there were no shots fired.
