Teenage boy killed in London sword attack
4 others injured; cops taser, arrest attacker
London, April 30: A sword-wielding man on Tuesday smashed a vehicle into a home and then went on a stabbing spree in a “serious incident near an east London Tube station, killing a 14-yearold boy and wounding four people, before being arrested, the Metropolitan Police said.
The police said the incident did not appear to be linked with “any act of terrorism and that two other members of public and two police officers who sustained stab wounds in the serious incident remain in hospital after the attack in Hainault area of the city. The police initially said the boy who succumbed to his injuries in hospital was 13 years old, but later clarified his age as 14.
“The child’s family are being supported firstly by my local officers and now with some specialist officers and everyone across the Met is keeping them in our thoughts at this unimaginably difficult time,” Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell, who leads local policing for the Met Police’s East Area Command, said in a statement.
“A 36-year-old man is currently in custody. He was tasered and arrested 22 minutes after the first call to police was received shortly before 7am. I want to reiterate that at present we do not believe there is any ongoing threat to the wider community, we are not looking for more suspects and this incident does not appear to be terror related,” he said.
The police chief said the other two members of the public injured in the truly horrific incident remain in hospital, their injuries not believed to be life-threatening. The suspect is at the hospital and police have been unable to question him.
A statement from Buckingham Palace said King Charles III’S “thoughts and prayers” are with those affected by the attack. It said the King has asked to be kept “fully informed” as details of the incident become clearer.
PM Rishi Sunak described it as a shocking incident, saying that such violence has no place on the country’s streets.