Guard disarms knifeman after he stabs girl, 11, and woman in Leicester Square

A security guard jumped on a knifeman and successfully disarmed him during chaotic scenes in London’s Leicester Square, with an 11-year-old girl and 34-year-old woman stabbed in the tourist hotspot.

- HOLLY EVANS

Along with the assistance of other members of the public, Abdullah, 29, managed to detain the suspect until the arrival of emergency services, who arrested him at the scene. Both victims were taken to major trauma centres, with the young girl requiring hospital treatment for her injuries, which are not lifethreatening, and the woman suffering more minor wounds.

Speaking to reporters, Abdullah, who worked at the nearby TWG Tea shop, said: “I heard a scream, at that moment I saw there was one person, roughly (in their) mid-thirties or early thirties, and he was like stabbing a kid – I jumped on him, held the hand in which he was (carrying) a knife, and just put him down on the floor and just held him and took the knife away from him.

“Then a couple of more people joined as well, and we just held him until the police came, it took maybe three to four minutes for the police to arrive and then they just took him into custody.”

He and his colleagues gave first aid to the child before the police joined in, he said. “I just saw a kid getting stabbed and I just tried to save her. It’s my duty to just save them.” He added that he did not know if the girl was with family members at the time.