London police said Thursday that they found no evidence of radicalization to suggest terrorism after a Somali man stabbed a woman to death and wounded five other people in central London. Instead, they say the attack was likely triggered by mental health issues.
Police arrested the 19-year-old man in Russell Square, near the University of London, after incapacitating him with a Taser. The man who has yet to be publicly named is in police custody at a nearby hospital.
“In some of our big iconic locations, we’ve already got armed patrols if you look at Parliament, Downing Street so it’s not entirely new,” Metropolitan Police chief Bernard Hogan-Howe said Thursday. “I think people understand that where you are going to have people as enemies who’ve got guns, we’ve got to have guns.”
The decision to put armed police on the streets in London is significant because the vast majority of officers in Britain do not carry firearms a standard that will remain intact for most of London’s 31,000 police officers.
Police identified the 60-year-old woman who was stabbed to death as an American citizen. She was treated at the scene by paramedics, but pronounced dead shortly after. Three victims were released from the hospital early Thursday morning. The condition of two others was unknown.
Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Service’s Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations, said police believe the mental health of the suspect to be a “significant factor” in the case, but cautioned that it is just one of several lines of inquiry.
“But of course at this stage we should keep an open mind regarding motive and consequently terrorism as a motivation remains but one line of inquiry for us to explore,” he added.
Police received a call about the attack in progress around 10:30 p.m. local time, and within about 10 minutes had arrived on the scene and subdued the attacker.