Tube suspect’s family warned Met weeks ago
POLICE were warned weeks ago about the suspected knifeman who tried to behead a Tube passenger, his brother claimed last night.
Uber taxi driver Muhaydin Mire was taking drugs and ‘seeing demons’, said his brother Mohamed.
As Mire, 29, appeared in court charged with attempted murder, Mohamed said his brother’s mental health problems dated back to 2007 – but the authorities ‘could not help him because he was not a harm to people’.
Within three hours of Somalian-born Mire allegedly trying to hack off a man’s head with a craft knife at Leytonstone Underground station, in east London, the Metropolitan Police declared it a ‘terrorist’ incident.
They failed to mention that Mire’s family had reported him to police weeks ago.
Relatives were so worried they had booked him a ticket on a flight to Somalia – where his mother lives – for Sunday, the day after the incident.
The Met admitted the family had approached them three weeks ago, though Mire’s brother insisted it was six weeks ago.
Mohamed claimed the family had wanted Mire sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
The family arrived from Somalia when Mire was 12 and settled in Camden, north London.
Former classmates at South Camden Community School remember a hardworking boy who never missed a day’s school, played football, was ‘not religious’ and ‘kept out of trouble’.
‘As far as I know he loved education,’ said his brother. ‘He wanted to be a computer scientist.’ But he began ‘hanging out with the wrong people’ and started taking strong cannabis. Last night, Mohamed told Channel 4 News his brother was treated for mental health issues in 2007 at the Royal Free Hospital and then got his life back on track – but said he had declined again in August this year.
‘He was working as an Uber driver, he was doing a good job,’ Mohamed said. ‘And then he got back into the same thing.’
He said his brother’s problems restarted and Mire would phone ‘saying odd things’, ‘jumping around, talking nonsense’.
Mohamed added: ‘We tried to get him help, we tried to call the local authority. They could not help him because they said he was not a harm to people … Yes, we wanted him sectioned.’
Mire’s brother said the family contacted the Met about their concerns, adding: ‘They came to meet him, that was October 22.’
The Met said in a statement: ‘Police were contacted by a famvictim ily member approximately three weeks before the incident on Saturday. There was no mention of radicalisation; the conversation related entirely to healthrelated issues and the family were therefore correctly referred to health services for help.’
Police have been investigating if the suspect was inspired by Islamic State. Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism officers have been working to unravel the recent activities of Mire, who was arrested at Leytonstone Tube station on Saturday evening.
He is accused of attempting to behead a 56-year-old musician after ambushing him from behind with a razor-sharp craft knife.
Investigators say they have been unable to rule out that Mire had extremist accomplices, and they are working to identify friends and acquaintances.
Forces across the country are on high alert for copycat attacks with extra officers flooding the transport network.
The attack raised fears police are ill-prepared to cope with ‘lone wolf’ terrorism after armed officers failed to arrive in time. Instead, the knifeman was confronted by a bystander before local beat officers arrived and repeatedly Tasered him.
The 56-year-old victim was left with several injuries, including a 5in gaping wound to his throat after he was punched and kicked unconscious. He remains under police guard at the Royal London Hospital. Lawyers are expected to apply for a court order banning publication of his identity over fears for his safety.
Yesterday, Mire appeared to fight back tears as he was remanded in custody by a judge at Westminster magistrates’ court. David Cawthorne, prosecuting, said Mire is accused of one count of attempted murder but the police inquiry continues.
The suspect will be assessed by mental health experts this week over fears he is unfit to stand trial, the court heard.
District judge Quentin Purdy told him: ‘I am sending you for trial at the Old Bailey where you will appear on Friday.’
Neighbours of Mire described him as a ‘regular guy’ who wore Western clothes, except on Fridays when he changed into traditional Muslim dress.
‘We wanted him
sectioned’