Agencies
London
A 14-year-old boy has died after several people were stabbed - including two police officers - in a car and sword attack in north-east London.
The boy was among five people treated at the scene in Hainault who were taken to hospital, where he died. A 36-year-old man was arrested after being Tasered by police 22 minutes after they were called to the scene. Eyewitnesses described seeing the suspect run through the area with a sword before he was Tasered. At a press conference, the Met Police said the suspect was in hospital being treated for injuries sustained when a vehicle he was in drove into a wall.
His condition means he has not yet been interviewed, police added. Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe said their investigations had not discovered any previous contact between the man and the police.
He said the events of this morning were “truly horrific”.
“My thoughts are with the injured, their families and the wider community,” he said.
Footage shared on social media showed a man with a long knife in Laing Close.
Ch Supt Bell acknowledged there would be “understandably, a desire for answers and an explanation as to what happened” and officers were working to “establish the full facts”.
The Metropolitan Police said a vehicle was driven into a house in the Thurlow Gardens area before multiple people were stabbed shortly before 7BST.
Ch Supt Bell said two Met officers were in hospital and had suffered wounds requiring surgery. Three members of the public, including the boy, were also taken to hospital.
He described the officers’ stab wounds as “significant” but not life-threatening. The injuries of the two other members of the public were also “not believed to be life-threatening”.
Ch Supt Bell said the suspect was Tasered at the scene and arrested 22 minutes after the first call to police was made. He remains in custody.
“We do not believe there is any ongoing threat to the wider public and we are not seeking any other persons,” Ch Supt Bell said. He added he did not believe it was terror-related and was not a “targeted” attack.
But he would not answer questions asked by reporters about whether the suspect was known to the police, or if he had previously been arrested.
Also speaking at a separate press conference, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said additional uniformed police officers would be in the area over the coming days.
“I’m sure I speak for the entire city when I say our thoughts are with this young child and his family,” he said.
