Article content

An 82-year-old woman was beheaded outside her London, U.K., home by a man with a machete Thursday.

Palmira Silva, a widow and grandmother, was decapitated in her backyard in an apparent frenzied assault by a 25-year-old man who randomly targeted victims.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Woman, 82, beheaded outside London, U.K., home by machete-wielding man Back to video

Witnesses said they saw the man, wielding a foot-long blade, attack a passing vehicle and a cat before roaming back gardens for a victim. Police believe the man also tried to attack two people at another home in the street, Nightingale Road, but they were able to escape without injury.

The man was arrested after armed police, who had distracted him to avoid other attacks, cornered him in a house and brought him down with a Taser stun gun. Some officers were injured.

Ms. Silva, who was of Italian descent, was pronounced dead at the scene.

One line of inquiry for detectives is understood to be that the man was inspired by recent footage of terrorists beheading two American journalists in Syria.