BBC
A shop security guard has said he tried to save an 11-year-old girl as she was being attacked by a knifeman in London’s Leicester Square.
In a post on X, the Met Police said a man had been arrested and taken into custody, after the girl and a 34-year-old woman were stabbed.
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.
The Met said it did not believe there were “any outstanding suspects” and there was no suggestion the incident was terror-related “at this stage”.
The Met said the girl would require hospital treatment but her injuries were not life threatening, while the woman’s injuries were “more minor”.
Police officers remain at the scene, which is in one of the busiest tourist districts in the capital.
Abdullah told the BBC he had heard “a scream”, so he “jumped on the attacker… and kicked the knife away from him”.
“I heard a scream and I just went outside and saw one guy had a knife,” he explained.
‘Duty to save them’
Abdullah said: “The moment I saw it I just jumped on that guy and grabbed his hand… and put him down on the floor and kicked the knife away from him.
He said a couple of other men also came over to help and held the man down for “four to five” minutes, adding he decided to take action because “I had no time, I just didn’t think”.
“It’s horrible to be honest; I’ve never seen anything like that before,” he said.
“To do this to a kid, it’s horrible.”
He added he and his colleagues gave first aid to the child before the police took over.
“I just saw a kid getting stabbed and I just tried to save her,” he said.
“It’s my duty to just save them.”
‘Horrific’
Desmond, 45, who performs as Darth Vader on the square “every day” said he saw two people detain the attacker.
He added that the woman and girl appeared to be family or known to each other as they had been together before the attack happened.
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.”
Another eyewitness, called Jacqueline, said: “I heard a loud scream and ran straight over.
“I saw a young girl on the floor with her mum, which I think was her mum, and a few guys tackled the man to the floor.”
She described the scene as “horrific”, adding: “I’m shocked.”
“It just happened so quickly. Police arrived and then the ambulance arrived.
“I could see there was a lot of blood.”
She added: “This is where I’m based all the time, so I feel scared. Things can happen anywhere, it doesn’t matter where you are.
“Normally there’s a lot of police around this area. It’s a tourist attraction.”
Shortly after the attack, several police officers were still at the scene next to the Lego store on Swiss Court, just off the square itself.
Objects including a green lighter, black cap and bloodied napkins could be seen on the ground behind crime scene tape, with a small crowd of people gathered in the distance.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said paramedics were called at 11:36 BST to reports of a stabbing.
They said: “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.”
