A 64-yr-old American woman, Darlene Horton was on Wednesday night killed with five others injured in a knife attack at the Russell square, central London.
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Police said there would be an increased police presence on the streets of London from Thursday morning “for reassurance and safety”. No further details of the victims were immediately available.
Officers searched an address in north London and said there was no indication the suspect, who is a Norwegian national of Somali heritage, was “motivated by terrorism” or had been radicalised.
He is said to be suffering possible “mental health issues”. “At this time, we believe this was a spontaneous attack and that the victims were selected at random”.
Richard Wagner, Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of Psychology, and his wife were in London where he taught in the summer session at the university’s renowned London Study Program.
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.
The unnamed woman – an American national – died in the attack while four others including a British man, an American man, an Australian man, an Australian woman and an Israeli woman were injured and needed hospital treatment.
The knife attack occurred on Wednesday on the street of Russell Square, a tourist spot near the British Museum. There was no evidence of radicalization or terrorism as a motivation, Rowley said.
Counterterrorism police are supporting the investigation, but not leading it, authorities said later.
Bulhan, a Norwegian national of Somali origin who moved to the United Kingdom in 2002 and lived in Tooting, south London, is due to appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
Police guard Russell Square following a knife attack in London, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016.
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London mayor Sadiq Khan said, “I urge all Londoners to remain calm and vigilant.We all have a vital role to play as eyes and ears for our security services and in helping to ensure London is protected”.
