Teenage boy killed in London sword attack
By Reuters



LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - A 14-year-old boy was killed and four other people were injured after a stabbing in London on Tuesday involving a man with a sword.
Police said they did not believe the incident was terrorism-related and there was no ongoing threat to the wider community.
Police tasered and arrested the man after the incident near Hainault in east London. Video footage showed a man wielding what appeared to be a sword.

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/london-police-arrest-sword-wielding-man-after-reports-stabbing-2024-04-30/

A 14-year-old boy killed in the London sword attack did not hear a warning about the assailant because he was wearing headphones, a neighbour has claimed.

Details of the horror in Hainault yesterday continued to emerge this morning as it was also revealed that the boy - named locally as Daniel Anjorin – attended the same school where Nottingham stabbing victim Grace O'Malley-Kumar was a pupil.

Daniel went to the £24,990-a-year Bancroft's private school in Woodford Green, where Miss O'Malley-Kumar - who was killed last June - was also a former student.


The chaos in Hainault saw a man armed with a sword go on the rampage, killing Daniel and injuring two other members of the public as well as two police officers.

Neighbours recalling the scenes yesterday morning said the attacker first spoke to a woman, asking her to confirm his location, before she saw the weapon and fled. She tried to warn Daniel, who is said to be a Nigerian boy, but it was too late.

Witness Aiste Dabasinskaaite told ITV of the moment she saw a man fatally stab the teenager. She said the man asked her for the address of the area they were in, then put his foot on her foot so she 'couldn't back off'.

She said: 'Once I told the address, he sort of moved closer towards me, he put his foot on my foot so I couldn't back off and then that's when he like drew out the sword. It was arm's length. It was honestly petrifying. I just ran down the road, I didn't even look back to see if he was chasing me.'

Ms Dabasinskaaite said she tried to warn the teenager, adding: 'My instinct was to shout and wave at him, which is what me and another neighbour did but because he had just his headphones on I don't think he heard either of us.

'It was sort of a moment where we just went from shouting to just blankness, just felt empty. You wouldn't think that would happen on your doorstep, you know.'


Daniel's mother works at Holy Family Catholic School, which published a statement on its website addressed to parents and carers that said: 'It is with great sadness that I share with you the news of the death of the child of one of our staff members.

Mrs Anjorin's son was taken from this life suddenly this morning on his way to school. Please keep Mrs Anjorin, her husband and their other children in your prayers.'

The O'Malley-Kumar family are from Woodford Green, which is about three miles away from Hainault, and offered their support to the Anjorin family today.

Speaking on ITV'S Good Morning Britain (GMB) today, Miss O'Malley-Kumar's parents Sinead O'Malley and Dr Sanjoy Kumar offered to meet the boy's family and said they 'empathised' with them following yesterday's attack.

It had chilling echoes of their daughter's murder 11 months ago – with both incidents seeing suspects go on a knife-wielding rampage and crash a van, before being tasered by police and arrested.

Mrs O'Malley said: 'I don't think there's anything that anybody can say to alleviate their heart and their pain so we wouldn't try to minimise that, but all we can do is empathise and hope they will heal with time.'


Her daughter was repeatedly stabbed to death after she came to the aid of her friend Barnaby Webber, also 19, instead of fleeing the scene.

Dr Kumar told GMB: 'It seems every day something like this is reported in the press. It's absolutely appalling, you can't even imagine what the parents are going through. This is the most difficult thing for any parent to endure.


Miss Kumar, an England under-18s hockey player and University of Nottingham student, died a hero as she bravely tried to fight off Valdo Calocane, 32, during a city-wide rampage in Nottingham on June 13 last year.

Caretaker Ian Coates, 65, was fatally stabbed by Calocane and left for dead.

Calocane was sentenced to detention in a high-security hospital after admitting manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

But there will be a hearing on May 8 at the Royal Courts of Justice in London for a sentencing review.

Miss Kumar's 'astonishing bravery' was recognised during a previous court hearing in which Dr Kumar praised his daughter as a hero who shunned the opportunity to run away.

MPs and senior police officers have called for her to posthumously be given the George Cross - the highest civilian award for acts of 'the greatest heroism or of the most courage in circumstances of extreme danger

Her parents both support the call and told GMB they were 'humbled' by the suggestion she should be recognised for her bravery.

Also today, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said a female police officer suffered 'horrifically serious' arm injuries in the Hainault attack.

He told LBC that the officer had undergone several hours of surgery yesterday and faces 'a long journey of recovery' after nearly losing her hand.


He said: 'The surgeon spent many, many hours basically putting her arm back together.'

A male officer also suffered serious hand injuries and is recovering in hospital.

Speaking about the victim, Sir Mark said: 'The first thing you have to say is for the parents involved, who've lost their 14-year-old, that is just horrific, and it's everyone's worst nightmare. I'm sure we're all thinking about them.'

Terrified residents hid as the swordsman climbed over garden fences, before police managed to Taser and arrest him.

The 36-year-old suspect remains in hospital after being injured when he crashed his van into a house.

Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell, of the Metropolitan Police, said he did not believe it was a targeted attack, and it is not believed to be terror-related.

The police tasered him. Would have been shot multiple times if he was black.

frugal:
The police tasered him. Would have been shot multiple times if he was black.

Seems as if people stood by filming with mobile phones while he was being killed.

frugal:
The police tasered him. Would have been shot multiple times if he was black.

Not how UK police work

Most UK police are not armed. If there is an attack like that, they would have had to call in specialist armed police...which kind of takes time.

The responding officers are armed with tasers, which are mostly non-lethal. Even then, people can die from being tased.

nairalanda1:


Not how UK police work

Most UK police are not armed. If there is an attack like that, they would have had to call in specialist armed police...which kind of takes time.

The responding officers are armed with tasers, which are mostly non-lethal. Even then, people can die from being tased.

You're completely right.

I have hearing somethings sha about this UK thing, I don't know if it's rumors or truth

So sad 😭 and pathetic 🤣 rest on boy The system failed you

The killer was brandishing a Japanese samurai sword, most sword related violence in the UK are carried out by perpetuators wielding samurai sword also known as katana.

Awón Òyìnbó sef, they should just shoot the mofo, because he will soon claim he was abused by his father and that caused PTSD.

Litmus:

Ms Dabasinskaaite said she tried to warn the teenager, adding: 'My instinct was to shout and wave at him, which is what me and another neighbour did but because he had just his headphones on I don't think he heard either of us.

Headphone

Johnwrite:
I have hearing somethings sha about this UK thing, I don't know if it's rumors or truth

What things are you hearing?

frugal:
The police tasered him. Would have been shot multiple times if he was black.

blacks live don't matter even in Africa not to talk of outside Africa.

Johnwrite:
I have hearing somethings sha about this UK thing, I don't know if it's rumors or truth

Kindly share with us

frugal:
The police tasered him. Would have been shot multiple times if he was black.

its London not US

Where's the UK Nigeria community?

Take a look at this derogatory, insensitive, inconsiderate head title by a mainstream UK newspaper. They actually labelled him Sword Lad!!!.

They probably laughed in Editorial when suggesting this to whoever gives the go-ahead before newspaper hit printing....

Litmus:
Where's the UK Nigeria community?

Take a look at this derogatory, insensitive, inconsiderate head title by a mainstream UK newspaper. They actually labelled him Sword Lad!!!.

They probably laughed in Editorial when suggesting this to whoever gives the go-ahead before newspaper hit printing....

Disgusting and so callous, I made a complaint to the Independent Press Standards Organisation, see how far that gets🙄.