A woman attacked by Streatham terrorist Sudesh Amman has revealed she escaped harm because he tried to stab her with a knife still in its plastic packaging.

The woman, 36, originally from the Dominican Republic, told the BBC the incident was “horrific” and “like a movie”. In an interview translated from Spanish, she said she is struggling to walk the streets again after the traumatic experience.

Amman, 20, was shot dead by police on Sunday after grabbing the knife from a shop and attacking two bystanders in Streatham High Road, south London.

One of Amman’s victims has been named as 51-year-old nursery teacher Monika Luftner. In a statement, St Bede’s Catholic Infant and Nursery School in Lambeth said a member of staff was making a “good recovery after experiencing a shocking attack”. A man in his 40s was left fighting for his life but is now in a stable condition after receiving treatment, Scotland Yard confirmed. He is understood to still be in hospital.

A third person was injured by flying glass during the gunfire.

Amman had been jailed for possessing and distributing terrorist documents in December 2018, but was freed automatically halfway through his sentence less than a fortnight ago. His father Faraz Khan said he did not realise his son had been radicalised in prison and “never thought he would go this far”.

The woman, referred to as Rosa although that it is not her real name, said she was in a shop in Streatham High Road when Amman pushed her and tried to stab her.

She told the BBC: “He came in and took a knife and he looked like he was leaving the shop. The owner thought he was going to stop by the cashier to pay. But ... he pushed me, he tried to open and remove the plastic packaging from the knife, but he didn’t manage. He pushed and he stabbed me but the knife was still covered with plastic.”

Rosa described the incident as “spending 15-20 minutes in hell” and said she has not been able to sleep since.