2 London police officers remain hospitalized after confronting sword-wielding suspect
LONDON (AP) — Two London police officers remained hospitalized on Wednesday, a day after suffering “horrifically serious” injuries as they rushed to stop a sword-wielding attacker on a suburban street, the city’s police chief said.
Details about the attack emerged a day before London voters go to the polls in local elections where crime and the performance of the capital’s police force are major issues.
Commissioner Mark Rowley, who leads London’s Metropolitan Police Service, applauded his officers for running toward danger as they responded to the attack in the northeastern London suburb of Hainault early Tuesday. The attack left a 14-year-old boy dead and four others injured, including the two officers.
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Rowley told LBC Radio that the two officers suffered serious arm and hand injuries as they confronted the suspect. A female officer faces “a long journey of recovery” after surgeons spent hours “basically putting her arm back together,” he said.
Rowley didn’t contradict press reports that the officer nearly lost her hand.
“That’s not a million miles away,” he said. “I mean it’s really horrifically serious injuries.”
Rowley said officers arrived on the scene 12 minutes after receiving the first call and the suspect was detained 10 minutes later, Rowley said.
Video posted on social media showed a man in a yellow hooded sweatshirt being subdued by a stun gun as he confronted police.
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The 36-year-old suspect was arrested on suspicion of murder, police said on Tuesday. Police haven’t released any information about what might have led to the incident, though they said there were no indications of terrorism.
He was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for injuries suffered when the van he was driving struck a building. Officers were unable to interview the suspect on Tuesday due to his injuries, the department said in a statement.
Danica Kirka, The Associated Press