A critical incident has been declared near a Tube station in northeast London after reports a man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers.
The man, alleged to have been carrying a sword, crashed a vehicle into a house in Thurlow Gardens, before reportedly stabbing a number of people, police said.
The 36-year-old was alleged to have attacked members of the public and two police officers before eventually being arrested.
The Metropolitan Police were alerted to the incident shortly before 7am this morning.
Pic:@ell_pht
Fire and rescue crews as well as a number of ambulances were also dispatched to the scene.
The condition of those injured isn’t currently known and officers are not looking for anymore suspects.
Hainault Tube station in Ilford has been closed by police after the incident.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he was “absolutely devastated” by news of the incident.
Home Secretary James Cleverly said he was being updated about the incident and extended his thoughts to those affected.
Wes Streeting, the MP for Ilford North, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “A critical incident has been declared in Hainault.
“There are station and road closures in place. The police, ambulance service and fire brigade are responding.”
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Multiple stabbings reported at Hainault Station in London
A man with a sword has been arrested. Pic: @petekingdom/X
Police said the attack did not appear to be terror related.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said: “This must have been a terrifying incident for those concerned.
“I know the wider community will be feeling shock and alarm.
“People will want to know what has happened and will we provide more information as soon as we can.”
One witness said they heard shrieking around 7am before witnessing a man jumping over some fences.
The man, who asked not to be named, told the PA news agency: “I heard shouting, I heard shrieking – I thought ‘who would be shrieking at this time in the morning?’
“The shrieking sounded like the police – you know when they are ordering someone to stop or to get on their knees or something – it was like that.
“It was like ‘stop where you are, put that down, put that down’ – that kind of thing.
“I looked out the back window because the noise was coming from back there, I saw a bloke jumping over some fences … then he went down an alley like he was going back onto the street again.
“I saw a policeman and policewoman – normal coppers with the short-sleeved shirts – who chased after him and they were shouting for him to put it down.”
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Another local said he was “anxious” to get home after finding out what took place this morning.
Peter Kingdom, 56, an IT analyst from Hainault, said: “As I was walking to the station, I saw an ambulance heading towards the scene and another leaving.
“The road was blocked either side of the station entrance and all transport in the area was suspended (Tube and buses). There was a helicopter circling the area.
“I didn’t see the man, just the ambulances, police, etc. I wasn’t concerned at first, but was a bit anxious to get back home after finding out what had happened.”
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