A 19-year-old man was detained after killing one and wounding five others with a knife in London’s Russell Square at approximately 10:30 local time.
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“However we are keeping an open mind regarding the motive”, London Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said in a statement. Police say an attack in London is not a matter of if, but when. 52 people were killed and hundreds of people were injured. None of the injured victims had life-threatening injuries. The 19-year-old suspect was arrested shortly after police arrived, and a Taser was discharged by one of the officers.
Officials said a Norwegian man of Somali descent who killed one American woman and injured five others in London was “not motivated by terrorism”. The woman was reported to have said “he’s still here, he’s still here”, possibly to warn others that her assailant was still at large. “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”.
Extra armed and unarmed officers were being deployed on the streets in a bid to reassure the public following recent events overseas, police said.
The victim, a USA citizen in her 60s, was treated at the scene but pronounced dead a short time later. Police initially said terrorism was “one line of inquiry being explored”.
“I was buying a beer when I heard a woman shouting who was being chased by a man”, said Xavery Richert, 22, a French tourist staying in a youth hostel on the square.
Harry Sarfo, a German who grew up in the United Kingdom and fought with jihadists in Syria, claimed he was told to return to Europe where the group was organising “loads of attacks at the same time” in Germany, France and Britain.
“There was like two rivers of blood running away from the person so we thought, yeah, someone has been killed”, she said. In some cases, the answer is both, though Corner stresses that most terrorist attackers are not mentally ill, and most people with mental illness are not violent.
While British police officers are not routinely armed, those that are carry handguns and semi-automatic weapons, as well as electric stun guns.
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Following the Paris attacks a year ago, Hogan-Howe chose to increase the number of armed police in London from the existing 2,200. Even with the additional armed officers, the vast majority of London’s 31,000 police officers won’t be armed.
