3 stabbed at London station in ‘terror incident’

3 stabbed at London station in ‘terror incident’

PTIUpdated: Friday, May 31, 2019, 08:18 PM IST
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London: A machete-wielding man reportedly screaming “this is for Syria” stabbed three people at a London Underground train station before police used a stun gun to arrest him, an assault Scotland Yard described as a “terrorist incident”. The attack by a man in his late 20s at Leytonstone Tube station, about 10 km east of central London, came just days after Britain launched its first air strikes against terrorist targets inside Syria.

Police were called to reports of people being attacked by a knifeman who was reportedly shouting “this is for Syria” at the station last evening. In the attack, a 56-year-old man suffered knife wounds which were serious but not life-threatening while two other people sustained minor injuries. An amateur video footage of the scene showed passengers, some with children, running away as a man lies in a pool of blood in the ticket hall of the station.

The attacker was pinned down by police officers armed with a Taser. When police first fired the Taser at the suspect it did not work, and the attacker was seen on video still to be standing. The officers then fired a Taser at the suspect again, which sent him crashing to the floor. Police said that initial reports indicated that the man had also threatened other bystanders.

The videos show some people in the tube station hurrying away when they realise a knife attacker is on the loose, while others take out phones and make video recordings and take photos. The Metropolitan police’s counter-terrorism command are investigating the incident.

“We are treating this as a terrorist incident. I would urge the public to remain calm, but alert and vigilant. The threat from terrorism remains at severe, which means that a terrorist attack is highly likely,” Commander Richard Walton, who leads the Met’s counter-terrorism command, said.

A spokesperson for 10 Downing Street said: “There is an ongoing police investigation into the attack in London. We are monitoring the situation closely as further details emerge.” A witness told the BBC that he saw a man holding a knife, about three inches long, standing over another man who was lying on the ground, and people running out of the Central Line Tube station.

A spokesperson for the mayor of London said: “The Mayor was briefed by the Commissioner. Whilst this is clearly a serious incident and the Mayor’s thoughts are with the victim, it would be inappropriate to comment further on what is an ongoing investigation.”

This is the first terrorist attack on British soil since the murder of fusilier Lee Rigby in May, 2013. Britain is on its second-highest alert level of “severe”, meaning a militant attack is considered highly likely, mainly because of the threat posed by IS militants who are encouraging supporters to attack the West.

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