Nightmare of victims, survivors
An Australian woman was left unable to speak after being wounded in Saturday’s London terror attack — but she still was able to send out a powerfully defiant message.
“The f- -ker stabbed me in the neck. Don’t worry too much. I love you all,” Candice Hedge, 34, one of 48 people wounded in the attack, wrote on Facebook, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I’m doing OK,” she added. “Still in hospital, but all in the clear. I really can’t talk.”
While Hedge was on the road to recovery, reports said some 21 of those wounded were hurt seriously and fighting for their lives.
The death toll, meanwhile, stood at seven in the van and knife attack by terrorists on and near London Bridge in the heart of the British capital.
Among the dead that have been identified so far are a bride-to-be from Canada and a French national, authorities said Sunday.
Christine Archibald of Castlegar, British Columbia, had worked at a homeless shelter before moving to Europe to live with her fiancé, Canada’s CTV reported.
“We grieve the loss of our beautiful, loving daughter and sister,” her family said in a statement. “She had room in her heart for everyone and believed strongly that every person was to be valued and respected.”
“She would have had no understanding of the callous cruelty that caused her death,” they added.
Police hadn’t released names of the other dead victims Sunday, but French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said one was a citizen of France, according to the UK Telegraph.
Many foreign nationals were among the wounded in the attack, which struck the city’s popular Borough Market area.
Among them was New Zealand man Oliver Dowling, 32, who was gaining strength after he was stabbed in the face, neck and stomach, according to the UK Sun.
At least seven of the wounded were from France, one was from Spain and two were German residents, government officials said.
Two police officers were also wounded — an on-duty transit cop who bravely fought off the attackers with his baton and an off-duty officer, according to the BBC.
Daniel O’Neill, 23, was among those slashed with a knife by an attacker. He suffered a 7-inch cut from his stomach to his back the, BBC reported.
“He had just stepped outside the bar for a second and a man ran up to him and said, ‘This is for my family, this is for Islam,’ and put a knife in him,” his mother, Elizabeth O’Neill, told the BBC. “I’m still in shock. I can’t quite believe it’s happened.”