Armed police were called at 10.33 pm after a man armed with a knife started to attack people in London’s Russell Square.
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Russell Square, a busy area in central London frequented by many tourists and students, was the scene of one of the London bombings in July 2005. The 19-year-old was arrested six minutes later at 10.39pm after a Taser was sacked by one of the officers.
An American citizen in her 60s was treated at the scene but pronounced dead a short time later. The deceased woman is in her 60s but it would be inappropriate at this time for me to give any more personal details about her.
Police arrived within six minutes and the 19-year-old armed man who was attacking pedestrians on the street was immediately tasered before being arrested and taken off into police custody.
A Met Police spokesman said: “We continue to focus our lines of inquiry on mental health while retaining an open mind regarding the motive”.
The Metropolitan Police’s Homicide and Major Crime Command is leading the investigation, supported by counter-terrorism officers.
The deployment is unusual because most British officers do not carry firearms, but police commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said the operation was not based on any “specific intelligence”.
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. The official threat level from global terrorism now stands at severe – indicating that an attack is highly likely.
The incident came after authorities earlier on Wednesday announced London would increase its presence of armed police after recent terror attacks in Europe. The others who were hurt include three men and two women and they suffered “various injuries”, police say. Mental health issues are also said to likely factor in to the action taken by the attacker last night. Police confirmed that five other people had been injured, however, the condition and extent of those injuries was not elaborated on. “I saw armed police guarding the cordon around Russell Square plus ambulance at other end of Bedford place”.
Khan asked Londoners to report anything suspicious to the police.
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“We all have a vital role to play as eyes and ears for our police and security services and in helping to ensure London is protected”, he said.
