A 14-year-old boy has died in a terrifying sword attack in east London on Tuesday morning.
Police raced to the scene in Hainault after reports a van had rammed into a home and a sword-wielding suspect was prowling the streets.
The armed 36-year-old man, who was wearing a yellow hoodie, was later tasered by police and arrested.
Five people – including two police officers – were injured in the horrifying incident in the quiet residential area.
Police are not treating it as a targeted attack, and do not believe it is terror-related.
This is how the terrifying sword attack unfolded:
6:54am: Police were called to Hainault in East London after reports that a van drove into a house and a sword-wielding suspect was spotted roaming the area.
7:00am: Neighbours wake to shouting and ‘piercing screams’. Some spoke of hiding from the attacker as he wielded the ‘samurai sword’ next to their properties.
One woman said: ‘We were very scared and trying to hide and not show ourselves through the window because he was standing right next to our house and he could have seen us if he looked up.
7:05am: Home security footage seen by PA shows an ambulance parked next to a stabbing victim before it quickly drives away as the knifeman runs after it shouting.
7:10am: The suspect was seen climbing on top of an outbuilding in the area before jumping into a garden. A man could also be heard yelling ‘come here’ and ‘lock your doors’ at surrounding residents.
Chilling footage shows a group of officers descending on the scene to apprehend the man who can be seen to the right dressed in yellow as he runs behind a fence
A man ‘wielding a machete’ was seen ‘prowling the streets of east London’ earlier this morning
7:16am: The 36-year-old suspect was tasered as he attempted to jump over a garden fence and arrested just 22 minutes after the first call to police had been made. A resident spoke of how the attacker was ‘being tasered, went to the floor with all the armed police officers around and he was subdued there for half an hour.’
7:30am: A critical incident is declared and Hainault Tube station is closed. Police cordon off the area.
9:24am: London Fire Brigade declares that the incident is over.
9:56am: Keir Starmer tweets: ‘Awful news coming from Hainault. Our thoughts are with the victims. Thankful for the first responders on the scene.’
10.04am: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan releases a statement on X, thanking the police and emergency services ‘from the bottom of my heart’. He said: ‘I am absolutely devastated by the news from Hainault this morning.’
10.30am: London Ambulance Service confirms five people were rushed to hospital following the terrifying ordeal.
10:52am: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak posts on X: ‘This is a shocking incident. My thoughts are with those affected and their families.
‘I’d like to thank the emergency services for their ongoing response, and pay tribute to the extraordinary bravery shown by police on the scene. Such violence has no place on our streets.’
12.56pm: At a press conference, Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell confirms that a boy, aged 14, was killed. He also confirms that two Metropolitan Police officers were injured in the attack and have ‘significant injuries’ that will require surgery.
This will be an incredibly challenging time for the local community and my thoughts remain with all those affected.
1:06pm: Home Secretary James Cleverley tweets: ‘To hear the 13 year old victim of this morning’s appalling attack in Ilford has died is heartbreaking. I send my heartfelt condolences to the family. This will be an incredibly challenging time for the local community and my thoughts remain with all those affected.
1:30pm: Sadiq Khan describes the stabbing in a video as ‘devastating and appalling’. He said: ‘I’m sure I speak on behalf of the entire city when I say our thoughts and prayers are with this young child and his family.’
Mr Bell said the suspect had been tasered at the scene and arrested 22 minutes after the first call to police was made
1:31pm: Wes Streeting, MP for Ilford North, releases a statement on X. He said: ‘Our whole community will be devastated by the heartbreaking news that a 13-year-old boy was killed in the horrific sword attack in Hainault this morning.’
2:30pm: The Met Police issue a correction about the boy’s age. He was aged 14, not 13 as originally believed. Wes Streeting tweets: ‘This is a fast-moving situation and the Police are working at pace.’
2:47pm: One neighbour told ITV News of the moment the attacker ‘pulled a knife from his trousers’ and stabbed the young boy.
3:15pm: On behalf of King Charles, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said his ‘thoughts and prayers are with all those affected’ by the ‘horrific’ Hainault stabbings, ‘in particular the family of the young victim who has lost his life’.
4:00pm:
The major emergency service response in Hainault this morning – crews rushed to the scene of a multiple stabbing
There remains a heavy police presence in the area
