U.S. woman killed in London knife attack, no evidence of terrorism link say police

[August 04, 2016]  By Costas Pitas and Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) - A U.S. woman was killed and five other people injured by a man with suspected mental health issues who went on a rampage with a knife in central London, but police said there was no evidence that the attack was terrorism related.

Armed police were called at 10:33 p.m. (2133 GMT) after a Norwegian man of Somali origin with a knife started to attack people in London's Russell Square, an elegant park near the site of a 2005 suicide bombing.

The victim, a U.S. citizen in her 60s, was treated at the scene but pronounced dead a short time later.

Another woman and four men were treated in hospital, though three of them were later discharged. Nationals from Australia, Britain, Israel and the United States were among those hurt.

"All of the work we have done so far increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues," said London Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley.

"We believe this was a spontaneous attack and that the victims were selected at random," said Rowley, who is Britain's most senior anti-terrorism officer.

"So far we have found no evidence of radicalization that would suggest that the man in our custody is in any way motivated by terrorism," said Rowley. Initially he said that terrorism was a line of inquiry.

Police, who arrived within six minutes of being called, used a Taser electric shock gun while detaining the 19-year-old suspect. He was later formally arrested on suspicion of murder.

Police cordoned off the southern part of the square, which sits at the heart of London's university area and is close to landmarks such as the British Museum, for several hours as forensics officers examined the attack scene.

Later, workmen hosed blood off the pavement.

"SEVERE THREAT"

London's Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital, called for vigilance and urged Londoners to report anything suspicious to the police‎, who increased their presence in the capital.

A police officer stands guard at the scene of a knife attack in Russell Square in London, Britain August 4, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall

"The safety of all Londoners is my number one priority and my heart goes out to the victims of the incident in Russell Square and their loved ones," he said.

Just hours before the Russell Square attack, London's police chief said that he would deploy an additional 600 armed officers across the capital to protect against attacks.

London counter-terrorism police chiefs have previously warned that Islamic State was seeking to radicalize vulnerable people with mental health issues to carry out attacks. In some operations, police commanders have taken advice from specialist psychologists.

Islamist militants hit London with coordinated suicide bombings on July 7, 2005, killing 52 people. One of the bombs detonated on a bus close to Russell Square.

Since then, dozens of plots have been foiled and there have been smaller-scale attacks, such as the beheading of an off-duty soldier by militant Islamists in a London street in May 2013.

A man who attacked passengers at a London underground train station in December was jailed for life earlier this month. The judge said the attacker was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the offense but may have been motivated by events in Syria.

(Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Jon Boyle)

[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.