British police were holding a 19-year-old man on suspicion of murder yesterday after a central London stabbing spree that killed a US woman but appeared unrelated to terrorism.
Cities across Europe have been on edge after a string of attacks in recent weeks and the overnight rampage that killed the woman, thought to be in her 60s, and injured five others, had triggered fresh terror fears.
But authorities said there was no sign the Norwegian man of Somali origin was radicalised or had terror motives, with the evidence so far pointing to the attack being sparked by mental health problems.
“We believe this was a spontaneous attack and the victims were selected at random,” senior police officer Mark Rowley told reporters.
“We have found no evidence of radicalisation or anything that would suggest the man in our custody was motivated by terrorism.”
The investigation “increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues”, he added.
The attack took place late Wednesday in Russell Square, a plush garden square in the city centre close to attractions including the British Museum.
Police responded quickly to reports of multiple stabbings and immobilised the suspect with an electric stun gun within six minutes.
However, he had already injured two women and three men.
Paramedics battled to save the US woman but pronounced her dead at the scene.
Among those injured were US, British, Australian and Israeli nationals.
Three of the five have been discharged from hospital and the other two are not in a life-threatening condition.
With other European cities on edge following recent attacks, including those in Paris, Nice and Brussels, London Mayor Sadiq Khan appealed for calm and vigilance.
“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,” he said.
Police had announced hours before the stabbings that the first of an additional 600 armed officers were trained and ready to hit the streets.
British police officers are not routinely armed but the decision to boost the number of armed officers in London from 2,200 was taken after last year’s Paris attacks that killed 130.
Xavery Richert, 22, a French tourist staying in a youth hostel on the Russell Square said he saw a man chasing a screaming woman down the road.
“I thought it was a bag snatching... she was not hurt,” he told AFP.
“I came out for a cigarette, I went back, there were firefighters, police, and then I saw the body under a sheet.
You could only see the feet sticking out.”
Russell Square resident Constantine Somerville added: “It’s such a safe area and very quiet especially at night — why would somebody commit an attack in such a quiet area?”
Police were interviewing the suspect, his family and other witnesses and authorities were conducting a full intelligence review.
Ida Dahl Nilssen, spokeswoman for the Norwegian criminal police, told AFP that they had been informed of the arrest.
“He is recorded as having been outside Norway since 2002, that is to say, a long time ago given that he is only 19,” she said.
Since August 2014, the terror threat level in Britain has been classed as “severe” — the second highest level, meaning an attack is considered “highly likely”.
Wednesday’s stabbings came two days after a mentally ill Somali-born man was jailed for life for a knife attack at a London Underground station.
Paranoid schizophrenic Muhaydin Mire, 30, tried to behead a commuter in December in an Islamic State-inspired attack.
The Russell Square suspect was seized by four police officers and restrained face-down on the ground minutes after the rampage, a witness said.
The officers handcuffed a man in Bedford Place, just yards from where six people had been attacked, after he had been tasered.
A night porter at the Grange Clarendon Hotel watched as the suspect was subdued.
He told the Standard: “I could see four police officers restraining him, holding him face-down on the floor.  
“He wasn’t struggling I think he knew it was over. One police officer was about to get his handcuffs on him and was speaking into his ear.
“Others were searching the street for something he threw.”
The suspect had been screaming moments earlier, one onlooker said.
A hotel worker, said a guest had witnessed the moment the knifeman went on the rampage.
“The police came to the hotel and a guest was telling them what he saw,” he said. “He said there was a madman running around with a knife just lunging at people randomly and stabbing them. People didn’t realise what was happening until they saw the knife, then everyone ran.
Meanwhile, Spanish tourist Laura Gomez said she saw one of the victims, a blonde woman in her 20s or 30s, running northwards up Southampton Row.
She said: “We saw a woman with her hand holding her side. She was running and shouting ‘I need a hospital. I need a hospital.’ A man who looked like he was in his 60s and a woman stopped a taxi and helped her.”
An onlooker told how one of the other victims was screaming with blood pouring out of her as she lay on the ground.
The man said blood was running down her back, while another woman was suffering from stab wounds to the arm.
London stepped up its anti-terrorism security yesterday morning with new heavily armed police patrolling streets and near Tube stations, hours after a fatal attack in Russell Square.
An elite unit of 600 extra officers has been deployed to counter the threat of a terrorist attack in the capital, bringing the total number of armed officers to 2,800.
The Met’s new elite force are wearing grey Kevlar body armour and carrying firearms including submachine guns, handguns, automatic assault rifles and sniper rifles.
They are masked to hide their identities, a key factor in hostage situations and kidnap attempts.
Speedboats and BMW F800GS motorbikes are also part of the new force, allowing officers to race to an incident anywhere in London as quick as possible.
Met assistant commissioner Mark Rowley announced in the early hours of this morning that Londoners would notice the increased police presence today onwards.
He said: “As a precautionary measure tomorrow Londoners will wake up and in the morning they will notice an increased police presence on the streets including armed officers.”
“This is there to provide reassurance and safety and we ask the public to remain calm, vigilant and alert.”
The bloody attack comes days after Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe claimed a terrorist attack in London was a question of “when, not if”.
Speaking of the terrorist atrocities Europe has seen recently, he said: “I feel and understand that fear, and as the police officer in charge of preventing such an attack I know you want me to reassure you.”
“I am afraid I cannot do that entirely. Our threat level has been at ‘Severe’ for two years. It remains there.
“It means an attack is highly likely – you could say it is a case of when, not if.”