London mayor Sadiq Khan has called for the public to remain “calm and vigilant” as police investigate whether a knife attack that left one woman dead and five people injured was terror-related.
Mr Khan said his “heart goes out to the victims of the incident in Russell Square and their loved ones” after the death of the woman, who has not been identified but is believed to have been in her 60s.
Two women and three men suffered “various injuries” in the incident in central London and are receiving treatment in hospital.
Armed police are being deployed on the streets of London to reassure the public who were recently warned that it was a case of “when, not if” a terrorist attack took place in Britain.
Mr Khan said police were doing an “incredibly difficult job” and the safety of Londoners was his “number one priority”.
“A man was arrested at the scene. Police have spoken to him and are seeking to establish the full facts including motives for this attack.
“I urge all Londoners to remain calm and vigilant. Please report anything suspicious to the police. We all have a vital role to play as eyes and ears for our police and security services and in helping to ensure London is protected.”
The attack took place on Wednesday night, metres away from a floral tribute to murdered MP Jo Cox, with a sign reading “Lest London forgets Jo Cox MP for Yorkshire”, and sunflowers hanging from the metal fence around the square.
Tommaso Greco, 26, who works in Pret opposite the scene, said: “I am a little bit worried, for sure. Because it could happen to anyone. They were just in the middle of the street. And here, generally, there are a lot of people. It is a tourist area.”
A 19-year-old man, whose identity has not been released, is currently under armed guard in hospital after being arrested by police officers who used a Taser.
Police said they are keeping an open mind over the motive behind the attack, understood to have taken place near the Imperial Hotel, and said terrorism was “one line of inquiry that we should explore”.
The killing is being investigated by the Met’s homicide team with the support of the force’s counter-terrorism unit.
However Scotland Yard said early indications suggested “mental health is a significant factor in this case”.
Speaking outside Scotland Yard in the early hours of Thursday morning, the Met’s Assistant Commissioner for special operations, Mark Rowley, said it had been a “tragic incident”.
“Early indications suggest that mental health is a significant factor in this case and that is one major line of inquiry.
“But of course 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,” he said.
Police were called to Russell Square, a popular tourist area near the British Museum in Bloomsbury, shortly after 10.30pm to reports of a man armed with a knife assaulting people.
“Armed officers arrived at the scene within five minutes, they discharged the Taser whilst confronting and arresting the suspect,” Mr Rowley said.
“Six people have been injured, including the one woman who sadly died at the scene, and the others have received various injuries.”
The London Ambulance Service (LAS) said paramedics gave the woman “extensive treatment” at the scene but she could not be saved.
The suspected attacker was arrested just before 10.40pm.
The attack came on the same day that Scotland Yard announced it was to put more armed officers on public patrol as part of anti-terrorism plans.
On Sunday, Metropolitan Police chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe warned that a terror attack in the UK was a case of “when, not if”.
Counter-terror police are also investigating the attempted abduction of a serviceman at knifepoint from a road near RAF Marham in Norfolk on July 20.
Second fatal stabbing ‘not linked’
A man has been killed and two others injured in a stabbing in south-west London.
Scotland Yard said there was no link to the Russell Square knife attack and no suspicion of any terror-related motive.
Police found a man in his 30s who had been stabbed at Shepard House on the Winstanley Estate in Wandsworth at around 6pm on Wednesday. He died at the scene a short while later.
Two other men who had also been stabbed were found nearby and were taken to hospital suffering from non-life threatening injuries.
No-one has been arrested and detectives from the Homicide and Major Crime Command are investigating.
