Counter-terror police called as woman killed in London stabbing spree
Attack near British Museum, in which woman in her 60s killed and five others wounded, may have been terrorism
Britain’s counter-terrorism authorities, the division of Scotland Yard known as SO15, joined the investigation into the late Wednesday stabbing spree in London’s Russell Square.
One woman in her 60s was killed and five people were wounded after a knife-wielding man began stabbing people in the square, which is a park that lies adjacent to the British Museum.
The five wounded victims are recuperating in hospital. One is a woman and four are men.
The suspect was identified by various sources as male, and by police as 19 years old.
Police have still not ascertained the motive, officers said Thursday morning. “Early indications suggest mental health is a significant factor,” they note in a statement quoted in the Guardian, though “at this stage we should keep an open mind regarding motive and consequently terrorism as a motivation remains but one line of inquiry for us to explore.”
But according to The Guardian newspaper, “as detail emerged, the decision was made to have the counter-terrorism command involved in the investigation.”
The move, reported around 3 a.m. local time, is the strongest indication yet, several hours after the 10:30 p.m. Wednesday incident, that authorities may be leaning toward a terror motive.
London Metropolitan Police received the first call at 10:33 p.m. By 10:39 p.m., officers had arrested a suspect.
By the early morning hours of Thursday, the Guardian reported, “in a sign of the seriousness with which the incident was being treated by the Met, senior officers had been called into work, including chiefs in the Met’s counter terrorism command.”
Homicide investigators are still leading the probe, police indicated.
Police used a stun gun to detain the suspect, an earlier police statement said.
“Eyewitnesses have reported a police forensics tent has been erected on Southampton Row, outside the park in the center of the square, which is close to the British Museum,” the BBC reported, citing a reporter at the scene.
According to the police statement, officers first received “reports of a man seen in possession of a knife injuring people at Russell Square, WC1. Officers attended the scene along with the London Ambulance Service.”
The statement continued: “A female (no further details) was treated at the scene but was pronounced dead a short time later. We await an update on the condition of the other persons injured and details of any other injuries.”