2016 Russell Square stabbing

2016 Russell Square stabbing
Location Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London, United Kingdom
Coordinates 51°31′18″N 0°7′34″W / 51.52167°N 0.12611°W / 51.52167; -0.12611
Date 3 August 2016 (2016-08-03)
22:39 (UTC+01:00)
Attack type
 Mass stabbing
Deaths 1
Non-fatal injuries
 5
Suspected perpetrator
 Zakaria Bulhan

On 3 August 2016, a mass stabbing occurred in Russell Square, London. Six people were stabbed, one fatally, before a suspect, identified as Zakaria Bulhan, was apprehended by police and charged with murder and attempted murder. The media initially linked the stabbing to terrorism, but later shifted its focus to possible mental disorders.

Events

London's Metropolitan Police Service and London Ambulance Service arrived at the scene six minutes after emergency services were called at 22:33. Less than ten minutes later, a man was arrested at the scene after being tasered by police.[1][2][3]

Victims

Six people, apparently selected at random, were stabbed.[4] A 64-year-old American, Darlene Horton, died at the scene. She had planned to fly back to Florida the following day.[5][6][7][8] An American man, a British man, an Australian man, an Australian woman, and an Israeli woman were injured.[7][9] The British man remained in hospital with serious abdominal wounds.[10]

Suspect

Zakaria Bulhan[11] was a 19-year-old male Norwegian national of Somali descent.[5] He was described as a Muslim[12][13][14][15] who "didn't really talk about religion."[16] He moved from Norway in 2002, and was unemployed and living with his mother and younger brother in Tooting, South London.[1][17][18]

Not long before the stabbing, Bulhan completed his first studies at South Thames College, and had been a patient at a psychiatric facility near Russell Square. According to a family friend, Bulhan called an ambulance three separate times in the last six months, claiming he wanted to harm himself. According to The Independent, a profile in Bulhan's name on a book rating website "shows an interest in Islamic theology, listing a biography of the Prophet Mohamed and a book of Quran verses and hadiths as recent reads."[4][18][19]

Legal proceedings

Following his arrest, Bulhan was treated in hospital and later held in custody at a police station in South London.[1] On 5 August, he was charged with the murder of Horton, along with five counts of attempted murder.[9][20] He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 6 August,[21] where he was remanded in custody.[22] The trial is expected to take place in February 2017.[23]

Investigation

The Metropolitan Police initially said they were exploring terrorism as a possible motive.[3] They later said the investigation "increasingly points" to the attack being "triggered by mental health issues", and that the stabbings were random. Norwegian police cooperated in the investigation.[5]

Reactions

In an interview after the attack, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said, "London is one of the safest capitals in the world". He added, "It is a reality in 2016 – especially when you look at what happened in Nice, in Brussels, in Munich, in parts of America – we've always got to be vigilant and never complacent."[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Dewan, Angela; Berlinger, Joshua; Gigova, Radina (4 August 2016). "American killed in London knife attack, 5 others hurt". CNN. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  2. ↑ Grierson, Jamie; Dodd, Vikram; Barnes, Richard (3 August 2016). "Russell Square stabbings: man held on suspicion of murder". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  3. 1 2 "UPDATE: Incident in Russell Square". Metropolitan Police. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  4. 1 2 Tomkiw, Lydia (5 August 2016). "Who Is Zakaria Bulhan? London Russell Square Knife Attacker Identified, Terrorism Ruled Out As Motive". The International Business Times. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "Russell Square stabbings: Man arrested on suspicion of murder". BBC News. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  6. ↑ "Russell Square stabbings: Darlene Horton named as victim". BBC News. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  7. 1 2 Shapiro, Emily (4 August 2016). "London Stabbing Attack Victim Identified as Wife of FSU Professor". ABC News. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  8. ↑ Etters, Karls (4 August 2016). "Stabbing of FSU professor's wife shocks Tallahassee". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  9. 1 2 "London stabbing suspect charged with murder". Sky News. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  10. ↑ "Man appears in court charged with murder after London knife attack". Reuters. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  11. ↑ Evans, Martin; Harley, Nicola (4 August 2016). "Russell Square stabbing suspect and victim are named". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  12. ↑ Bentham, Martin; Morgan, Ben; Davis, Barney (5 August 2016). "Police work with mental health hospital as they quiz teenager over Russell Square knife bloodbath". The Evening Standard. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  13. ↑ Robson, Steve (5 August 2016). "Zakaria Bulhan: What we know about Russell Square stabbing suspect so far". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  14. ↑ Wells, Tom; Wilkinson, Matt; O'Shea, Gary; Ryan, Jake; Wilkins, Dean; KKerr, Chloe (5 August 2016). "'HE WAS NEVER VIOLENT' Teen arrested over murder of woman, 64, in Russell Square has been charged". The Sun. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  15. ↑ O'Carroll, Lisa (5 August 2016). "Russell Square knife attack suspect 'a polite and pleasant boy'". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  16. ↑ Palmer, Ewan (5 August 2016). "Russell Square stabbing suspect Zakaria Bulhan a 'quiet' pupil who was bullied at school". the International Business Times (UK). Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  17. ↑ "London knife attack: Everything we know about the Russell Square stabbings on Thursday morning". The Daily Telegraph. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  18. 1 2 Harris, Dominic (5 August 2016). "'I've never seen any sign of anything that suggest he has problems' - neighbours of man accused of going on stabbing rampage in London". Irish Independent. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  19. ↑ Dearden, Lizzie (5 August 2016). "Russell Square attack: London student Zakaria Bulhan named as suspect in stabbing that left American woman dead". The Independent. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  20. ↑ "British police charge Zakaria Bulhan, 19, with London stabbing of American tourist". New York Dialy News. AP. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  21. ↑ Cumber, Robert (6 August 2016). "Teenager charged with murder of American tourist in Russell Square attack". GetWestLondon. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  22. ↑ "Russell Square stabbings: Man remanded in custody over tourist murder". BBC News. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  23. ↑ "Rochester man Bernard Hepplewhite among six stabbed in Russell Square attack". Kent Messenger. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016. He was charged with murder and five counts of attempted murder on Friday, and appeared at the Old Bailey this morning. He was remanded in custody until his trial at the Old Bailey in February.
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