LONDON (AP) — Two London police officers remained hospitalized Wednesday, a day after suffering “horribly serious” injuries as they rushed to arrest a sword-wielding attacker on a suburban street, the police chief said. city police.
Details of the attack were revealed 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 heads the London Metropolitan Police Service, praised his officers for running towards danger as they responded to the attack on Tuesday morning in the north-east London suburb of Hainault. The attack left a 14-year-old boy dead and four others injured, including the two police officers.
Rowley told LBC radio that the two officers suffered serious arm and hand injuries while confronting the suspect. A female officer faces “a long healing journey” after surgeons spent hours “basically putting her arm back together,” he said.
Rowley did not contradict press reports that the officer nearly lost his hand.
“It’s not a million miles away,” he said. “I mean, these are really horribly serious injuries.”
Rowley said officers arrived on scene 12 minutes after receiving the first call and the suspect was arrested 10 minutes later, Rowley said.
Video posted to social media showed a man in a yellow hooded sweatshirt being subdued by a stun gun as he confronted police.
The suspect, aged 36, was arrested on suspicion of murder, police announced Tuesday. Police have not released any information about what might have led to the incident, although they said there was no indication of terrorism.
He was transported to a local hospital where he was treated for injuries sustained when the pickup truck he was driving struck a building. Officers were unable to interview the suspect Tuesday due to his injuries, the department said in a statement.
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