Hainault stabbing: King's grief after 14-year-old boy killed by sword-wielding man in north-east London

The King has expressed his grief after a 14-year-old boy died following a stabbing attack by a sword-wielding man in north-east London this morning. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “Following the horrific scenes in Hainault this morning, the King has asked to be kept fully informed as details of the incident become clearer.

“His thoughts and prayers are with all those affected – in particular, the family of the young victim who has lost his life – and he salutes the courage of the emergency services who helped contain the situation.”

Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell, of the Metropolitan Police, said five people were injured in the attack. Two Met officers suffered wounds that both require surgery, with Mr Bell describing their injuries as “significant” but not life-threatening, and injuries sustained by two members of the public are also not deemed to be life-threatening.

The officer said he did not believe it was a targeted attack, and it is not believed to be terror-related. A 36-year-old man was tasered and arrested at the scene, the Met said.

Speaking at a press conference, Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell said: “You will be aware that a serious incident occurred here at this location this morning. Police and ambulance services were called and deployed to a number of casualties.

“It is with great sadness that I confirm one of those injured in the incident, a 14-year-old boy, has died from their injuries. He was taken to hospital after being stabbed and sadly died a short while after. The child’s family are being supported firstly by my local officers and now with some specialist officers.”

One eyewitness at the scene on Laing Close said: “He was wielding his sword trying to attack the police but then they sprayed him and he ran away. He was shouting at the police ‘do you believe in God?’, also at the ambulance.”

They added: “We were very scared and trying to hide and not show ourselves through the window, because he was standing right next to our house and he could have seen us if he looked up. We were trying to hide but also at the same time taking video of him attacking the police, and of the body on the floor, so, yeah, we were very scared and we didn’t know what to do.”

Mr Bell refused to be drawn on claims the suspect had been previously arrested. He said: “I’m not going to be commenting on any of those questions other than the information that I’ve released. We will share that information when we feel it’s appropriate and when we know the answers.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described the incident as “shocking”, adding: “Such violence has no place on our streets”.

*The Metropolitan Police previously reported the victim as a 13-year-old boy, but this has been clarified by his family.