What do we know about the East London sword attack – man arrested, boy dead, 5 injured including cops
An attack in north-east London on Tuesday morning has been declared a critical incident after five people were stabbed.
A 13-year-old boy has died. Four others remain in hospital and are being treated, it’s not believed they are facing life-threatening injuries.
Footage shows a man being chased by police. The man is seen carrying a sword.
A 36-year-old man is in police custody.
Where and when did the attack happen?
The attack happened in Hainault, a suburban area in Ilford, which is part of the London Borough of Redbridge. Hainault is part of Greater London but is around 14 miles from the centre of the capital.
Just before 07:00 BST on Tuesday morning, police were called after a car was driven into a house in Thurlow Gardens, a residential street over the road from the town’s Underground rail station.
Footage has also been shared of the suspect in Laing Close, another residential street just 100m away.
What’s the timeline of the attack – what we know so far
The suspect was arrested 22 minutes after they received the first 999 call from a member of the public.
So far, there is no official timeline of how events unfolded but witnesses paint an image of a chaotic scene in which multiple people were injured.
One witness told PA news agency they heard a stand off between police and the suspect in an alley.
They said: “From that commotion at least one person was knifed – I think it might have been a woman because I heard a woman scream and then some sort of sobbing sounds.
“I then heard a voice say something like ‘she’s been stabbed in the face’ or ‘we need assistance’ – you know, calling for medical back-up.”
Another witness told PA he heard shrieking and police officers confronting the suspect.
He continued: “I looked out the back window because the noise was coming from back there, I saw a bloke dressed in yellow jumping over some fences… I saw a policeman and policewoman – normal coppers with the short-sleeved shirts – who chased after him and they were shouting for him to put it down.”
Manpreet Singh told the BBC he saw a “group of people, five or six of them, trying to fight off a guy – he had a sword in his hand”.
🚨🇬🇧BREAKING: STABBING INCIDENT IN LONDON.
In London, an individual wielding a sword has attacked homes, injuring two police officers and two residents.
Authorities have preliminarily stated that the incident does not seem to be a terrorist attack.
And of course since the… pic.twitter.com/GQXgHPTFbc
— Suppressed News. (@SuppressedNws) April 30, 2024
He told Radio 5 Live he saw the man running towards the station and entering a road opposite, before trying to get into a house.
Mr Singh said the suspect was trying to fight police officers off and was Tasered.
In one video, the suspect can be seen looking in houses in Laing Close, near to where a motionless person was also seen lying in the road.
One member of the public appears to have had a lucky escape. In one piece of video, they are very briefly seen emerging from a house metres away from the attacker, but they disappear out of view before they are spotted.
It is unclear if all five victims were attacked in Laing Close and Thurlow Gardens or whether there were further injuries nearby.
A damaged vehicle has also been seen in Laing Close, though it is unclear if the black car was involved in the incident.
Another member of the public captured footage of the suspect being pursued by police as he climbed over fences and garages and into gardens.
A man can be heard warning residents by screaming “everybody lock your doors”.
What do we know about the victims?
Five people were taken to hospital.
Two police officers and three members of the public were injured, police have confirmed.
A 13-year-old boy died from stab wounds shortly after being taken to hospital. His identity has not been released.
The other two members of the public are still in hospital but their conditions are not considered to be life-threatening, according to police.
The two police officers who were injured have “significant but not life-threatening” injuries and will require surgery, the Met confirmed.
At this stage, we know very little about the 36-year-old man suspected of involvement in this incident.
Videos captured by members of the public show a man in his 20s or 30s carrying what appears to be a Samurai-style sword.
In one video, he can be heard shouting in English, though the audio is not clear enough to judge with any certainty what he is saying.
Further details about his identity will not be officially confirmed unless he is charged with a crime.
Some cunt in Hainault, East London/ West Essex running about with a machete. Already killed a 15 year year old boy. Keep up the great work @SadiqKhan @metpoliceuk #khanout pic.twitter.com/Fn8CmgYVEx
— STC (@shaunthedaddy) April 30, 2024
Is this incident being classed as a terror attack by police?
No. The Met Police said within hours of the incident that it “does not appear to be terror-related” and said they don’t believe it was a “targeted attack”.
Police have also said they are not looking for any more suspects and there is no ongoing risk to the public.
