Lee Rigby’s mother Lyn Rigby says the stabbing of an Army officer in Kent has brought back harrowing nightmares of when her son was murdered in 2013.
Police rushed to Sally Port, a quiet residential street in Gillingham, shortly before 6pm on Tuesday after a soldier in his 40s was stabbed several times in a savage and seemingly unprovoked attack by an assailant armed with two kitchen knives.
Horrifying doorbell footage recorded the desperate wails of a woman begging for help as the attack unfolded close to a barracks – with echoes of the assault on Fusilier Lee Rigby, who was butchered in Woolwich by two Islamist terrorists.
The similarity of the attack was not lost on Ms Rigby, who says she cried herself to sleep last night after images from Kent began to appear in the media.
A 24-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Police are understood not to be treating the Kent attack as terrorism, and are looking into whether the attack was in some way linked to the suspect’s mental health.
Fusilier Lee Rigby, pictured in 2011 with his son Jack (then seven months old), was murdered in the street in Greenwich in 2013
Police on the scene of the murder of Lee Rigby on May 22 2013. Lee Rigby’s mother has said the attack in Kent last night has given her flashbacks
Michael Adebolajo (left) and Michael Adebowale are serving life sentences for the murder of Lee Rigby in 2013
Lyn Rigby (pictured in May this year) says the Kent incident has given her flashbacks of her son’s murder
The scene of an alleged stabbing in Gillingham, Kent, close to Brompton Barracks, on Tuesday
A photo appearing to show the alleged perpetrator of last night’s attack shows a man next to a red moped while wearing a ski mask and a NASA bomber jacket
Ms Rigby said of last night’s incident: ‘This is just so heartbreaking, and it takes me right back to the day Lee was killed.
‘I couldn’t sleep for crying last night after I heard the news and when I closed my eyes, I had terrible flashbacks of when Lee was butchered in the street.
‘It brought it all flooding back as if it was just yesterday. All I could see was Lee lying on the floor, fatally wounded.
‘When I saw another soldier had been stabbed in the street, I thought, “Oh God, not again”.’
Fusilier Rigby, 25, was off duty as he walked along Wellington Street close to his barracks in the borough of Greenwich on May 22 2013 when he was mown down by a car driven by Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale.
The pair then stepped out of the car and hacked the young father to death with knives and a cleaver before dragging his body into the middle of the road and claiming his death was revenge for Muslims killed by the Army.
Both men were shot by police after charging at officers. Adebowale was carrying a real, but not functioning, revolver.
Following a trial at the end of 2013 Adebolajo was sentenced to a whole life order while Adebowale was ordered to serve at least 45 years in prison.
Ms Rigby says she feels for the as-yet-unnamed Army officer who remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition.
‘I wouldn’t put my worst enemy through the horror and agony of what we have suffered for 11 years as a family,’ she said.
‘My heart and soul go out to this man and his family. Unless you have lived through something so traumatic, you can’t imagine the devastation and horror such acts of violence bring.
‘Just hearing the words that a soldier had been stabbed in the street took me back to the day when Lee was murdered. It’s like time had stood still and it sends chills down my spine.
‘I cried myself to sleep last night just thinking about Lee and the soldier who is the latest victim of a senseless stabbing.
‘Whatever has happened here, no man deserves to be stabbed in the street and I hope with all my heart he pulls through and survives.
‘This has all the echoes of what happened to Lee 11 years ago. It’s like reliving his murder all over again.’
An aerial view of Sally Port Gardens in Gillingham where the attack unfolded shortly before 6pm on Tuesday night
Police remain on the scene this morning (pictured) following the savage attack on a British serviceman
Forensic officers have been at an address in nearby Rochester, where a number of knives were retrieved
The incident took place in Sally Port Gardens, close to Brompton Barracks in Gillingham
Forensic police officers examine the scene of the alleged stabbing in Gillingham, thought to have involved an Army officer
The Army officer in Kent was said to be out on an evening walk in his uniform – described by one witness as being a ‘cream camouflage’ pattern – when the alleged attacker, wearing a ski mask and a NASA bomber jacket, began his attack.
No-one else was injured during the assault. Witnesses say the man appeared to be focused on attacking a man in military uniform.
‘My son was just a young man walking home from work when he was set upon by two fanatics,’ Ms Rigby said.
‘What happened to Lee was barbaric and now we have another soldier stabbed in the street and fighting for his life.
‘I just wish all the hate would stop whatever the motive behind this latest stabbing. Violence is never the answer and all it does is heap misery and heartache on victims, their families and loved ones.
‘I’d give anything to go back in time and be with Lee again, but nothing can bring him back to us.
‘I’m praying this man survives and praying for courage and strength for his family who will be in hell right now.
‘I was just a normal, anonymous housewife caring for my family when Lee was ferociously attacked.
‘When he was murdered all our lives were turned upside down and changed forever. You never get over it.
‘It lives with you all the time like a heavy rock crushing down on your chest weighing you down.
‘A moment of violent insanity destroys lives forever. My heart goes out to this soldier and his family.’
