A man attacked several people with a sword in the Hainault area of London before being arrested

A 36-year-old man was arrested in Hainault, east London, after attacking passers-by with a sword, causing several injuries and at least one death, on Tuesday 30 April.

According to a police statement, the authorities were alerted ‘shortly before 7am’ in this area of London after witnesses reported that ‘people had been attacked’.

A witness quoted by The Telegraph reported seeing a man ‘running with a samurai sword’ and ‘stabbing four people after crashing his van into a house’.

‘A man armed with a sword was apprehended,’ the police statement said, adding that witnesses at the scene said the suspect had attacked passers-by ‘and two police officers’.

Superintendent Stuart Bell said at around 2pm that a 13-year-old boy had succumbed to his injuries. ‘He was taken to hospital after being stabbed and sadly died shortly afterwards,’ the officer told Skynews.

The London Ambulance Service said ‘five people’ had been attended to and taken to hospital.

Ade Adelekan, a police official quoted in the statement, said that ‘we do not believe that the threat persists’ in the area and ‘we are not looking for other suspects’. ‘This incident does not appear to be terrorism-related’, he added.

On X, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said he was ‘absolutely devastated’ by the attack.