Two people were stabbed in London’s Leicester Square, a popular tourist destination.
The victims, an 11-year-old girl and a 34-year-old woman have been hospitalised, according to Westminster police.
New York Times reports that authorities have arrested a man who is currently in custody.
Police confirmed that they do not believe there are any other suspects involved in the attack.
“We don’t believe there are any outstanding suspects,” the police said.
A courageous hero, identified as Abdullah, intervened to stop the attacker.
Abdullah, who has worked at the TWG Tea shop for around eight months, said he “heard a scream” and saw there was a person in his early to mid-30s “stabbing a kid.”
“I jumped on him, held the hand in which he was [carrying] a knife, and just put him down on the floor and just held him and took the knife away from him,” he said.
“Then a couple of more people joined as well, and we just held him until the police came, it took maybe three to four minutes for the police to arrive and then they just took him into custody.”
Police praised the bravery of those who stepped in to help.
The two attacked victims were eventually identified as mother and daughter.
“This is a horrific incident and our thoughts are with the victims and their family,” said Detective Chief Superintendent Christina Jessah.
“We will continue to provide support to them over the coming days and weeks.
“I would like to pay tribute to the members of the public, including staff from local businesses, who bravely intervened in this incident.
“They put themselves at risk and showed the best of London in doing so.”
A police cordon was put in place surrounding the double doors of the TWG Tea shop, which is beside the Lego store and in front of the M&Ms store.
A witness, who performs as Darth Vader, said he saw a young, white, skinny male dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans putting the girl in a headlock and stabbing her, Sky News reported.
The man, who gave his name as Desmond, 45, said, “It was so terrible, I’ve never seen a thing like that. I was heartbroken, I saw the woman screaming with all her strength.”
A spokesperson for the London Ambulance Service said they were called at 11.36am to reports of a stabbing at Leicester Square.
“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an advanced paramedic, and an incident response officer. We also dispatched members of our tactical response unit,” they said.
“We treated a child and an adult at the scene and took them to a major trauma centre.”
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police said the girl would require hospital treatment but her injuries were not life-threatening, while her mother suffered minor injuries.
The force said a 32-year-old man was arrested at the scene and officers are not looking for anyone else in connection with the attack.
There is no suggestion the incident is terror-related and police don’t believe the suspect and the victims are known to each other. – Agency report.
