A man injured in the sword attack in east London has thanked the emergency services and his family for saving his life as he recovers in hospital.
Henry De Los Rios Polania, 35, an IT engineer from Hainault, was stabbed in his home on Tuesday morning. He was described by his sister, Jessica De Los Rios, 31, as a hero for protecting his family from the assailant.
He has since shared a photo on social media from his hospital bed, with the message: “I would like to start by thanking all the nurses, paramedics and the doctors on the NHS for keeping me alive.”
He also sent gratitude to the police “for risking their lives” and thanked “friends and family” and all those who made sure he did not “bleed out”.
A candlelit vigil will be held in Hainault this weekend in memory of Daniel Anjorin, 14, who died in the attack. It is scheduled to take place on Sunday 5 May from 10am to 11am at Hainault underground station car park, the Ilford Recorder reported.
A fundraising page set up by a friend of Daniel’s brother on Wednesday has already raised more than £100,000.
De Los Rios Polania said: “I’m recovering. I have a long journey ahead but I’m very positive that this trauma will end soon.”
His sister previously said her brother had sustained a deep wound to his hand. “It’s a very long process to get his hand recovered, due to this wound,” she said: “It’s going to be a really long, traumatising recovery for him.
“He’s very devastated to believe something like this could happen. To us, he’s our hero. He protected them, my niece and my sister-in-law.
“They were just literally sleeping, opened their eyes to see a man with a big machete sword. He felt helpless in the moment but to us, he is our hero. It could have been extremely worse.”
Marcus Arduini Monzo, 36, a dual Spanish-Brazilian national living in Newham, east London, appeared at Westminster magistrates court on Thursday charged with murdering Daniel with a samurai sword, as the boy walked to school. The attack left four other people injured, including two police officers.
Monzo, 36, is also charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of grievous bodily harm, aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article. He was remanded in custody at Westminster magistrates court to appear at the Old Bailey on 7 May.
Daniel’s family told Sky News he was a wonderful child who was well loved and hard working and that his death had left “a gaping wound in the family”.
Daniel was a pupil at Bancroft’s school, in Woodford Green, east London, the same one attended by Grace O’Malley-Kumar, one of the victims of the 2023 Nottingham stabbings.
A statement from the school paid tribute to the schoolboy calling him a “true scholar” who “quickly became a core member of our community”. “His positive nature and gentle character will leave a lasting impact on us all,” it said.
