Messages of support have poured in for a hero security guard who tried to save an 11-year-old girl as she was being attacked by a knifeman in London’s Leicester Square.
The Metropolitan Police said a 32-year-old man, thought to be the only suspect, had been arrested after the attack in the tourist hotspot on Monday.
The guard, who gave his name as Abdullah, 29, and works at TWG Tea shop in the square, told the PA news agency: “I heard a scream, at that moment I saw there was one person, roughly (in their) mid-30s or early 30s, and he was like 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.
“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 said two victims, an 11-year-old girl and 34-year-old woman, had been taken to a major trauma centre following the incident.
The girl will require hospital treatment but her injuries are not life threatening, while the woman suffered more minor injuries, the force said in a statement.
It added there was no suggestion that the incident was terror-related.
Police do not believe the suspect and the victims were known to each other.
Abdullah said he and his colleagues gave first aid to the child before the police took over and that he did not know if the girl was with family members at the time.
“I just saw a kid getting stabbed and I just tried to save her. It’s my duty to just save them,” he said.
The square and the surrounding area attracts an estimated 2.5 million visitors every week and are home to shops, theatres, cinemas and restaurants.
A police cordon sealing off the crime scene surrounded the double doors of the TWG Tea shop, which is beside the Lego store and in front of the M&Ms store.
In a statement, police said: “Officers are at the scene of a stabbing in Leicester Square.
“A man has been arrested and is in custody.
“We don’t believe there are any outstanding suspects.
“Two victims, an 11-year-old girl and a 34-year-old woman, have been taken to hospital and we await an update on their condition.”
A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We were called at 11.36am on Monday August 12 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.
“We treated a child and an adult at the scene and took them to a major trauma centre.”
A witness, who gave his name as Desmond, 45, said the suspect in the attack was a white, skinny male wearing a black T-shirt and jeans.
He said the knifeman focused the attack on the girl, putting her in a headlock and stabbing her.
Desmond told reporters: “When I looked to my side, I saw a young man… was stabbing her several (times) with a knife.”
He added: “It was so terrible, I’ve never seen a thing like that.
“I was heartbroken, I saw the woman was screaming with all her strength.”
Detective chief superintendent Christina Jessah said: “This is a horrific incident and our thoughts are with the victims and their family. 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.
“An urgent investigation is now ongoing and detectives are working to establish the details around exactly what happened.”
Witnesses or anyone with footage or images of the incident have been asked to call 101 or to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, giving the reference 2745/12AUG.
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