One of the victims of the London stabbing attack on Sunday is critically ill, the local member of parliament has said.
Police shot and killed a man after three people were wounded, one critically in an stabbing incident police called terrorism-related.
Some witnesses said the man had been armed with a machete and one described him as wearing silver canisters on his chest. Police said the man they had shot had been pronounced dead.
The London ambulance service said three people were wounded and had been taken to hospital after the attack in Streatham, a residential district south of the River Thames. It was not clear if all three suffered stab wounds.
Image shows local MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy at the scene of a stabbing incident in London, the UK, January 2, 2020. (Credit: Reuters)
Streatham MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy confirmed that two people had been stabbed in the attack and said the perpetrator had been known to the police previously.
“One [victim] is quite seriously unwell with the stabbing, and we hope they pull through soon,” said Ribeiro-Addy. “The police and the emergency services have been fantastic in their response: they got here quite quickly, responded to the incident, taking down the perpetrator, who, as you may know, they had been watching for some time. So hopefully we’ll hear more information about that soonest.
“It is very shocking. But I think the main thing for them to hear is people do these terrible things, but not to be afraid. Our emergency services have gone in swiftly to protect us. And as I’ve said, if we continue in that fear or if we continue to be divided by things like this, the terrorists have won.”
Earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted “Thank you to all emergency services responding to the incident in Streatham, which the police have now declared as terrorism-related. My thoughts are with the injured and all those affected.”
A statement from London Mayor Sadiq Khan says he is in “close contact” with the police, praises the emergency services and says “Terrorists seek to divide us and to destroy our way of life – here in London we will never let them succeed.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel tweeted that she is being “kept updated” and that her “first thoughts are with the victims, our brave police and emergency services and their families.”
