Moment Leicester Square suspect is arrested after girl, 11, and woman, 34, were stabbed – as hero security guard reveals how he tackled knifeman

This is the moment a ‘knifeman’ was arrested after a schoolgirl and a woman were attacked in Leicester Square.

A shop security guard said he tried to save the 11-year-old girl as she was being attacked by a knifeman today.

The Metropolitan Police said a man, thought to be the only suspect, had been arrested after the attack in the tourist hotspot on Monday.

The guard, who gave his name as Abdullah, 29, and works at TWG Tea shop in the square, said: ‘I heard a scream, at that moment I saw there was one person, roughly [in their] mid-30s or early 30s, 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.’

This is the moment a ‘knifeman’ was arrested after a schoolgirl and a woman were attacked in Leicester Square

The guard gave his name as Abdullah, 29, (pictured) and works at TWG Tea shop in the square

The Metropolitan Police said a man, thought to be the only suspect, had been arrested after the attack in the tourist hotspot on Monday

The guard said: ‘I heard a scream, at that moment I saw there was one person, roughly [in their] mid-30s or early 30s, 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’

Police said two victims, an 11-year-old girl and 34-year-old woman, had been taken to a major trauma centre following the incident.

The girl will require hospital treatment but her injuries are not life threatening, while the woman suffered more minor injuries, the force said in a statement.

It added there was no suggestion that the incident was terror related.

It is currently unclear whether the man was known to the victims.

Abdullah said he and his colleagues gave first aid to the child before the police took over and that he did not know if the girl was with family members at the time.

‘I just saw a kid getting stabbed and I just tried to save her. It’s my duty to just save them,’ he said.

The area outside a tea shop next to the LEGO story had been cordoned off with police tape

A police cordon has been put in place surrounding the double doors of the TWG Tea shop on Leicester Square

The square and the surrounding area attracts an estimated 2.5 million visitors every week and are home to shops, theatres, cinemas and restaurants.

A police cordon sealing off the crime scene surrounded the double doors of the TWG Tea shop, which is beside the Lego store and in front of the M&Ms store.

In a statement, police said: ‘Officers are at the scene of a stabbing in Leicester Square.

‘A man has been arrested and is in custody.

‘We don’t believe there are any outstanding suspects.

‘Two victims, an 11-year-old girl and a 34-year-old woman, have been taken to hospital and we await an update on their condition.’

There were no immediate details about how badly injured they were. Police say a man has been arrested and is currently being held in custody

Two woman and child were treated at the scene by paramedics from London Ambulance Service

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: ‘We were called at 11.36am on Monday August 12 to reports of a stabbing at Leicester Square.

‘We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an advanced paramedic and an incident response officer. We also dispatched members of our tactical response unit.

‘We treated a child and an adult at the scene and took them to a major trauma centre.’

A witness said the suspect in the attack in Leicester Square was a young, white, skinny male wearing a black T-shirt and jeans.

The witness, who gave his name as Desmond, 45, said the knifeman focused the attack on the girl, putting her in a headlock and stabbing her.

Desmond, 45, who performs as Darth Vader on the square ‘every day’, told reporters: ‘When I looked to my side I saw a young man… was stabbing her several [times] with a knife.

‘Before I could jump down to go [over there], two guys were just passing, and they grab him, they put him on the ground, and immediately the police came. I think the woman was also stabbed once, but the child was the most targeted, he was stabbing the child several times. Police held him and stood him up and cuffed him.’

The cordon is beside the LEGO store and in front of the M&M store, and families and tourists are still standing in queues for each

A baseball cap at the scene in Leicester Square, London, as a man has been arrested after an 11-year-old girl and 34-year-old woman were stabbed

Desmond said the woman and girl appeared to be family or known to each other as they had been together before the attack happened.

He added: ‘It was so terrible, I’ve never seen a thing like that. I was heartbroken, I saw the woman was screaming with all her strength.’

Desmond said he thought the woman, child and the attacker looked as if they might have been together because they were dressed similarly.

Another, David Hawkes, 43, from Billingham, Teesside, was on a family trip to London to visit the Harry Potter Studios when he saw armed cops bundle the suspect in to a police van.

He said: ‘We were sat in Leicester Square and heard a female scream, we walked across at that point police were just arriving quite promptly followed by ambulance crew.

‘There was a police helmet on the floor and a guy wearing black had his hands in cuffs and armed police were putting him in a van.

‘An air ambulance was trying to land and it was circling overhead.

Desmond, 45, (pictured) who performs as Darth Vader on the square ‘every day’, told reporters: ‘When I looked to my side I saw a young man… was stabbing her several [times] with a knife’

He added: ‘Before I could jump down to go [over there], two guys were just passing, and they grab him, they put him on the ground, and immediately the police came’

‘The area around Lego store was taped off and police and armed police went inside the TWG tearoom.’

A police cordon has been put in place surrounding the double doors of the TWG Tea shop on Leicester Square.

The cordon is beside the LEGO store and in front of the M&M store, and families and tourists are still standing in queues for each. 

At least six police officers are at the scene, which is popular among tourists and shoppers.

A Met spokesman said: ‘We don’t believe there are any outstanding suspects.

‘Two victims, an 11-yr-old girl and a 34-yr-old woman, have been taken to hospital and we await an update on their condition.’

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: ‘We were called at 11.36am on Monday August 12 to reports of a stabbing at Leicester Square.

‘We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an advanced paramedic and an incident response officer. We also dispatched members of our tactical response unit.

‘We treated a child and an adult at the scene and took them to a major trauma centre.’