Officials said a Norwegian man of Somali descent who killed one American woman and injured five others in London was “not motivated by terrorism”.
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The Metropolitan Police said mental health was a “significant factor” in events.
“But of course at this stage we should keep an open mind regarding motive and consequently terrorism as a motivation remains but one line of inquiry for us to explore”, he added.
Summary: London police have arrested the man who allegedly stabbed six people, killing one American.
Police said Thursday that it wasn’t terrorism – but in a city on edge after a summer of attacks elsewhere in Europe, both authorities and London residents initially responded as if it were.
The violence comes within hours of London police announcing a plan to put an additional 600 armed officers on patrol.
Police officers at the scene in Russell Square. Two other women and three men were injured.
Police officers arrived moments later and used a stun gun to subdue Bulhan.
Located in the Bloomsbury district of west central London, Russell Square is close to the main buildings of the University of London and the British Museum.
The other four victims – an American man, an Australian woman, an Australian man and an Israeli woman, also suffered stab wounds but have since been discharged.
The suspect emigrated from Norway to Britain in 2002, at the age of five, according to the Norwegian embassy. The police were doing an incredibly hard job, the mayor said, adding that the safety of Londoners was his “number one priority”.
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“At this hard moment the United States stands with our friends in Great Britain as the authorities seek the full facts as to exactly what happened, what the motive was, whether others may have been involved or not”, Kerry said on Thursday. Police are working under the assumption that the man was mentally ill and describe it as a “spontaneous attack”.
