Graphic footage of the attacks posted online soon after the incident show a large pool of blood spattered on the station floor.
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There were reports that during the incident, the attacker yelled, “This is for Syria”, said Chioma Dijeh, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police. Police would neither confirm nor deny those reports.
Police stepped up patrols at transport hubs after the incident, which came days after Parliament approved British airstrikes on Islamic State group targets in Syria.
Muhaydin Mire, who lives in Leytonstone in east London, is accused of attempting to kill a 56-year-old man at Leytonstone station on Saturday.
The attack occurred inside Leytonstone Tube station at around 7pm on Saturday.
“Basically, the scene I walked into was the guy lying on the floor, blood everywhere, and this guy shouting and that is when I tried to get everyone out of the station”. “Who is this idiot?” one onlooker said of the suspect, adding: “Yes!”
Officers shout “Put the knife down!” and “Drop it now!” at the stunned man, who drops the short-bladed knife as he quivers on the ground.
A man can be heard yelling at the assailant: “You ain’t no Muslim, bruv”.
Shortly after this, #YouAintNoMuslimBruv took Twitter by storm, and people have been sharing their emotions delinking terror from religion through the hashtag which struck a chord.
As they approach him he lashes out with his knife and appears to slash one of them in the neck area. One witness said Mire appeared to try beheading that victim.
The legislation defines terrorism as the use or threat of action created to influence the government or an global governmental organization, or intimidate the public, for the objective of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause.
Police tasered him twice before the suspect dropped the knife and they overpowered him.
He urged the public to “remain calm but alert and vigilant” in relation to any potential threat.
Britain’s worst militant Islamist attack was in July 2005, when 52 people were killed by suicide bombs on underground trains and a bus.
A written summary of the prosecution case disclosed in court included details of the IS-related material found on the suspect’s phone.
London mayor Boris Johnson was briefed by the city’s police chief, a spokesman said, praising the “swift and professional response” of the police.
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Commenting on the security measures taken by the capital to ensure the safety of passengers on the London Underground, a spokeswoman for Transport for London (TfL) told Asharq Al-Awsat that TfL is “working closely with the British Transport Police (BTP) which has stationed more than 700 police officers across London Underground”.
