The 32-year-old man who stabbed an 11-year-old girl on Monday in Leicester Square in London is Romanian, the information being confirmed by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE). The man was presented by the British authorities as a certain Ioan Pintaru and was charged with attempted murder, according to Sky News.
“The Romanian Embassy in London was notified on Monday, August 12, 2024, by the British police authorities regarding the incident in Leicester Square and the arrest of a person. As a result of the emergency measures carried out through the office of the internal affairs attaché of the Romanian Embassy in the United Kingdom, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) confirms that the person detained by the British authorities is a Romanian citizen”, MAE said in the press release.
The institution also says that, through the diplomatic mission and the General Consul of Romania in London, it maintains contact with the British authorities regarding this case and will follow the specific consular procedures. MAE also states that, until this moment, no other requests have been received in relation to this case.
Pintaru, who has no fixed abode, is also accused of possession of a sharp object and will be brought before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
It was initially believed that her mother was also injured, but this was later disproved by doctors. The girl was taken to hospital and is out of danger, while police say the incident is not being treated as a terrorist incident. Until now, the reasons why the man committed the attack in Leicester Square are not known.
At the end of last month, a young man broke into a gym in a city in England and fatally stabbed three little girls, an incident that generated large demonstrations against migrants.
A store security guard in the area, who witnessed the terrifying scene, told how he managed to disarm and restrain the attacker before he went on to injure other people. In an interview with the BBC, the hero stated that he had no time to think and that it was his duty to save the child.
Abdullah, 29, who works at TWG tea in Leicester Square, said he intervened to stop the attacker and, with help from colleagues, gave first aid to the child.
Abdullah told the BBC he heard “a scream” and immediately “jumped on the attacker… and kicked the knife away from him.”
“I heard a scream, and when I went outside, I saw a man with a knife,” he recounted.
“As soon as I saw it, I jumped on him, grabbed his hand, forced him to the ground, and kicked the knife away.”
He mentioned that a few other men joined in to help, holding the attacker down for “four to five” minutes. Abdullah explained his quick action by saying, “I had no time; I just acted without thinking.”
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