Mass stabbing in central London leaves woman dead and five injured

[BeyondGeography]

Source: The Guardian

A woman has been killed and five people have been injured in a mass stabbing in the centre of London. Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command, known as SO15, were investigating the incident in Russell Square on Wednesday night but police also said that mental health could be a “significant factor."

Police said there would be an increased police presence on the streets of London from Thursday morning “for reassurance and safety”.

A woman in her 60s was treated at the scene but was pronounced dead a short time later. Another woman and four men suffered “various injuries” in the attack, police said in a statement early on Thursday morning.

A 19-year-old man was arrested minutes after police arrived on the scene which is in a busy area close to the British Musem and home to many hotels and restaurants popular with tourists.

The suspect, who was Tasered during the arrest, was being held in custody in hospital, police said.

As detail emerged, the decision was made to have the counter-terrorism command involved in the investigation....

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/04/mass-stabbing-central-london-woman-dead-and-injured

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. No matter what else, mental health is the issue

[63splitwindow]

2. That is what is often the case. Takes crazy to do this shit, regardless of anything else.

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. Exactly

[The King of Prussia]

6. Possibly not terrorism

"There is a subtle change in the Met's latest statement where it says "we focus... on mental health while retaining an open mind".

Earlier statements included the line "terrorism remains one line of the inquiry being explored" but that has now been removed."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-london-36875146

[cannabis_flower]

4. 1 dead, 5 injured

No guns involved!

[christx30]

5. Yeah, with a gun it would have probably been 8 dead, 12 injured. n/t

[TipTok]

17. A bomb could have been 30...

... and poison could have been 100.

What's your point?

[christx30]

18. It was a good thing that there is such good

gun control there, and this twerp wasn't able to get ahold of a more lethal weapon than a knife.

[TipTok]

20. I think you mean that you are thankful he is lazy...

... as anyone in the western world (and most of the rest of it) has access to a variety of means to kill large amounts of people but went through the path of least resistance and checked the kitchen drawer.

[awoke_in_2003]

25. Did you hear a woosh

When the point flew over your head?

[christx30]

31. Humans have always been very inventive when it comes to

murdering other humans. But he didn't have the most effective means to do it. So, yes, I'm thankful he didn't have a gun. He just had his 7th century technology to go along with his 7th century mindset. He missed his shot at doing a lot of damage for his faith. Now this 19-year-old has a cage to look forward to for the rest of his life.

[Duckhunter935]

27. How come you did not post this about the truck murderer?

Oh yes, I think I know why.

[awoke_in_2003]

24. Bingo

Not 30 dead, 50 injured

[Duckhunter935]

28. Should have used a truck

That idiot killed more than that

[awoke_in_2003]

29. Once in a decade

You hear of someone killing dozens with a truck. Here, every time you turn around, you hear about someone doing it with a gun.

[MowCowWhoHow III]

7. Victim of London knife attack was American

Victim of London knife attack was American

A knife attack in central London has left one woman dead and five others injured
A 19-year-old man is being held on suspicion of murder
The victim is an American woman in her 60s
Police say terrorism cannot be ruled out but mental health was a "substantial focus'"
Met Police chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said the investigation was "moving very quickly"
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has urged the public to remain calm and vigilant
There will be an increased police presence - including armed officers - on Thursday
Two of the victims remain in hospital while three others have been discharged
An eyewitness described seeing one of the victims "lying in a pool of blood"

http://www.itv.com/news/story/2016-08-04/live-updates-victim-of-london-knife-attack-was-american/

Woman killed in Russell Square attack was American citizen

A Norwegian national of Somali origin has been arrested on suspicion of murdering an American woman and injuring five others, including Britons, in what was described by police as a “spontaneous attack”.

Speaking outside Scotland Yard headquarters, Metropolitan police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said there was no evidence that the 19-year-old suspect had been radicalised.

“While the investigation is not yet complete all of the work we have done so far, increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues,” Rowley said.

“Indeed at this time we believe it was a spontaneous attack and the victims were selected at random.”

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/04/woman-killed-in-russell-square-attack-was-american-citizen

[Abouttime]

8. Tragic

I cannot imagine the horrors this young Norwegian man was subjected to during his short life.
We must do a better job of meeting the needs of these refugees especially in the area of mental health. We cannot just allow them into our countries only to be housed unseen in ghettos. We must adapt our societies around them, if that means slightly changing some of our customs and practices to be more inclusive so be it, I'm all for it. We all need to build community, if this young man had been welcomed and felt at home in Norway he wouldn't have been walking around London out of his mind with a knife.
This is nothing more than the sad result of fascism and xenophobia, in other words the underlying rascism exhibited so brazenly in the brexit vote is bearing fruit.

[christx30]

9. What exactly would you change about society

and our customs and practices to stop refugees from killing innocent people?
Maybe start beating up gays for coming out? Enforce modest dress for women, maybe stop them from driving?
Refugees come to our countries for a better life than they had over there. They should change to accommodate our cultural practices. If my wife were to go to Saudi Arabia, she'd lose a heck of a lot of civil liberties. They would sure as hell not make any accommodations for Americans that go there.
This little shit doesn't deserve any kind of sympathy whatsoever. I don't care what he's been through in his life. He killed an innocent women and injured others. He deserves to serve a 50 year sentence, followed by deportation to whatever hellhole he came from.

[smirkymonkey]

21. +1000

[philosslayer]

32. Very well stated

Thank you for your levelheaded and pragmatic suggestion.

[christx30]

33. What was the suggestion I made?

I made a sarcastic suggestion to beat up gays for coming out and forcing women to dress modestly to appease overly religious Islamic people. Please tell me you don't think that was an actual suggestion.

[Marengo]

10. What "horrors" do you believe he experienced? Is the UK formally a fascist state?

What customs and practices do we need to change?

[BeyondGeography]

11. Oy

[Throd]

12. Nice parody. Well done.

[B2G]

13. He came to the UK at age 5.

What the fuck are you talking about?

[Rustyeye77]

14. Free Mumia !!

[LeftishBrit]

16. I don't understand what you're saying

Bad as the Brexit vote has been, it's got nothing to do with this deranged man.

And how do you know whether he was or wasn't welcomed in Norway? You are making all sorts of assumptions.

Some people just are very mentally unwell, sadly.

[King_David]

23. We must not change our culture one bit , at all ...ever...

We don't want to go back to a medieval culture .
Homophobia , hate on women and intolerance must never be accomdated ever.

[LeftishBrit]

35. What has culture got to do with this, one way or another?

By all accounts, this was a mentally ill murderer.

A horrible tragedy.

This isn't some religious or philosophical debate. I'm frustrated with all this debate, because it's a terrible disaster, which comes really close to me. It's a dangerously violent person causing horror in my former home (2 minutes away from where I lived as a student). The victim's husband works in an area similar to mine, and I know people who know him. It's not a cultural thing, and it's not a game of ideas. It's human violence resulting in horrible tragedy.

This isn't directed at you in particular, just a howl of despair at the whole disaster, and frustration at the way everyone on this thread seems to be bringing in things that don't really seem relevant.

[bravenak]

26. What a stretch

We have no clue that this has anything to do with Brexit. This guy is the perp, not the victim.

[LeftishBrit]

36. Exactly.

[awoke_in_2003]

30. No, we must not adapt toward them

that is fucking ridiculous. They left their country for a reason- it's a repressive shit hole. Equality for woman in the US and UK still has a way to go, but it is lightyears ahead of the ME

[LeftishBrit]

34. This tragedy has nothing to do with the Middle East, anyway.

[LeftishBrit]

15. Russell Sqare stabbing attack 'not terror related' say police after interviewing Norwegian suspect

Norwegian man was being held in custody on Thursday on suspicion of murdering an American woman in a “random” stabbing rampage in central London.

Investigators say the 19-year-old suspect, who is of Somali origin and moved to the UK aged five, is mentally ill and has no known links to terror groups or radicalisation....

Four of the wounded victims were discharged from hospital on Thursday, while a British man remained in a serious condition with a stab wound to his stomach....

Whilst the investigation is not yet complete - all of the work that we have done so far, increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues,” Mr Rowley said...


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/russell-square-stabbing-attack-news-suspect-latest-not-terror-related-police-norwegian-somali-a7171621.html


RIP to the murder victim, and wishing a speedy recovery to all the injured.

This has really upset me, as it's very very close to where I was a student many years ago, and I still go to the area quite often.

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. Victim was Darlene Horton, from Florida

A Tallahassee woman, who is the wife of a Florida State University professor teaching abroad, was killed in a London knife rampage Wednesday evening.

The brutal attack in the London tourist hub of Russell Square left Darlene Horton, the wife of FSU psychology professor Richard Wagner, dead the day the university's summer study abroad program ended.
...
Wagner was teaching in the summer study abroad program. Students had already returned to the U.S., but he and Horton remained, university officials said. The couple was expected to return to Florida today.
...
“There are no words to express our heartache over this terrible tragedy,” said FSU President John Thrasher. “We are shocked that such senseless violence has touched our own FSU family, and we will do all we can to assist Professor Wagner and his loved ones, as well as his friends and colleagues in the Psychology department, as they mourn.”

http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2016/08/04/wife-fsu-professor-killed-london-stabbing/88068446/

[tavernier]

22. The first time I was in London

a guy decapitated another guy with an axe, right on a city street, not far from where I was staying. I think it was either domestic or job related. Freaked me out because I was used to civilized gun violence here in the USA.