• Attack was ‘spontaneous’ and attacker chose victims at random • Police arrest Norwegian national of Somali origin • No evidence that suspect has been radicalised, say police

A Norwegian national of Somali origin has been arrested on suspicion of murdering an American woman and injuring five others, including Britons, in what was described by police as a “spontaneous attack”.

Speaking outside Scotland Yard headquarters, Metropolitan police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said there was no evidence that the 19-year-old suspect had been radicalised or was motivated by terrorism and reasserted the view that “mental health issues” played a significant role.

The suspect emigrated from Norway to the UK in 2002, at the age of five, according to the Norwegian Embassy.

“While the investigation is not yet complete, all of the work we have done so far increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues,” Rowley said. “Indeed at this time we believe it was a spontaneous attack and the victims were selected at random.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A forensic tent in Russell Square. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

Rowley said officers had interviewed the suspect and his family, had searched addresses and had liaised with security services.



The murdered woman was an American national, Rowley said. Those injured were Australian, American, Israeli and British. Two remain in hospital but are not in a life-threatening condition.

“This morning we’ve searched addresses in north London and we will search another in south London. I emphasise that so far we’ve found no evidence of radicalisation that would suggest the man in our custody is in any way motivated by terrorism.”



The man was arrested at the scene after police stunned him with a Taser following the attack, which began at 10.30pm on Wednesday in Russell Square, near the Imperial Hotel and the British Museum. The suspect was taken to a south London police station after receiving treatment in hospital.

Rowley said terrorism was an initial line of inquiry because, in the “current climate of threat” and with recent events across Europe, all possibilities should be considered.



Hotel guests described hearing screaming from the square below, while witnesses to the aftermath saw a body lying on the floor as armed police scrambled to the scene. Ellie Cattle, 21, who is staying in a hotel on Bedford Place, off Russell Square, said: “I looked out of my window because I heard sirens. I could see police – three police vans – coming down the road, and all I heard was them shouting, ‘put it down, put it down’.”

Spanish tourists Anna Calderón and Laura Gómez said they saw one of the victims, a blonde woman in her 20s or 30s, running northwards up Southampton Row. Gómez said: “We saw a woman with her hand holding her side. She was running and shouting, ‘I need a hospital. I need a hospital.’ A man who looked like he was in his 60s and a woman stopped a taxi and helped her.”



The incident in the popular tourist area came amid warnings about the high likelihood of a terrorist attack in the UK, following a series of incidents across Europe and the Middle East. The investigation into the stabbings, understood to have occurred on the eastern side of the square, was being led by murder detectives on Thursday with the support of counter-terrorism officers.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe: ‘Our investigation is moving very quickly and our detectives have been working hard throughout the night.’ Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

The Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, said: “My thoughts are with the family of the woman who was murdered and those who were injured. A normal night out in our busy capital has ended in horrific circumstances. Our investigation is moving very quickly and our detectives have been working hard throughout the night. As we have already made clear, mental health remains a substantial focus for our investigation.”

Officers cordoned off the area overnight and were stopping people entering Bedford Place, just off Russell Square, where the suspect is believed to have been arrested. Forensic officers wearing protective suits examined the scene. Most cordons were lifted on Thursday, with one partial road closure still in place. Witnesses described how armed police flooded the area after the attack and officers established a large cordon to seal off the square, where a forensics tent was later seen.

Additional police were immediately deployed in the area, which is popular with students and tourists. Along with the British Museum, the University of London and University College London are very close by. There are numerous hotels and restaurants in the area, including Hotel Russell and the Imperial.



Russell Square is a large garden square with a central fountain and a cafe, and is very busy during the day. Russell Square tube station is located just off the square and the area is a main thoroughfare for buses. The garden area is usually locked at night and would have closed at about 8.30pm. It was not clear whether it was still open when the stabbings took place, or whether they took place within the square itself or just outside.

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, called for the public to remain calm and vigilant. The police were doing an incredibly difficult job, the mayor said, adding that the safety of Londoners was his “number one priority”.