Hainault stabbing live: Boy, 13, stabbed to death as five people injured

Two members of the public remain in hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening.

Two police officers are also in hospital. Both require surgery but their injuries are also not believed to be life threatening, said Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell.

A 13-year-old boy has died from their injuries, police have said.

He was taken to hospital after being stabbed and died a short time after, said Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell.

Neighbours hailed the actions of a female police officer who tried to stop the alleged attacker.

Robert Harrison, 71, who was woken by screaming outside his house on New North Road, told The Independent that he heard a man who was “really agitated shouting and swearing” and that “loads of people came out to have a go at him”.

“There was a policewoman by herself trying to stop him,” he said, adding: “He lunged towards her and she sprayed him with something. She was trying to stop him from getting to the train station.”

Knife crime offences in London recorded by the Metropolitan Police rose year on year in the latest figures, but have not yet returned to levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Some 14,577 offences were recorded in the 12 months to December 2023, Home Office data shows.

This is up 20 per cent from 12,119 in the previous 12 months, but is slightly below the 14,680 in the year to March 2020.

Of the 49,489 knife crime offences recorded in England and Wales in 2023, 29 per cent were by the Metropolitan Police, a higher proportion than any other force.

An expected update from the Metropolitan Police at the scene of the stabbing in Hainault has been delayed.

Police were due to give a statement at midday, which is now expected to potentially come at 12:30pm.

Eyewitness footage shows a man wielding a sword in Hainault on Tuesday.

Here are the latest pictures from the scene at Hainault:

One local resident told The Independent they woke up to “the sound of a huge crash” caused by “a van that had driven straight into the side of the house opposite” his.

He described watching the events unfold and seeing “people running and screaming”, adding: “It’s all so surreal for a Tuesday morning.

“I was in my house watching out my window the whole time so I never personally felt worried but kids were on the way to school and my neighbours were on the way to work.”

The suspect was Tasered by police, an eyewitness has claimed.

“There was about seven or eight police cars entering that road and after another 10 minutes, I saw the guy running towards the station and entered the road opposite the station,” he told Radio 5 Live.

“He tried to get into one of the houses but couldn’t get into it and that’s when they Tasered him.”

Rishi Sunak has paid tribute to the bravery of emergency services who responded to the attack in Hainault.

Speaking at the Society of Editors conference in central London, he said: “I’d like to give my thanks to the emergency teams that are responding and to pay tribute to their bravery.”