Prashanth Kandhaiah is accused of trying to stab a police officer at Horse Guards Parade
(Picture: Getty Images)A knifeman who charged at armed police officers stationed in Horse Guards Parade in central London has told a jury he did not intend to stab anybody.
Prashanth Kandhaiah, 30, sprinted towards Ministry of Defence officers brandishing a kitchen knife on April 18 this year, a court heard.
He told Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday that he “didn’t go there to stab an officer”, adding: “I went there to get shot”.
“I thought as soon as they saw me they would shoot me,” he told jurors.
“It’s central London, so they take it very seriously. I thought they wouldn’t play around.”
Pc Digpaul, an MoD officer, moved to bring MP7 carbine rifle into position and changed the safety catch to fire but lost his footing while being chased in the area known as the tiltyard.
While on the ground, he readied his Glock pistol after kicking his alleged attacker before his colleague Tasered Kandhaiah, who said: “Please shoot me.”
Kandhaiah had previously made at least four attempts to take his own life, the court heard. He had previously told doctors of his plan to be shot dead by police as far back as October 2020.
He had searched online for the 2019 London Bridge terror attack, in which Usman Khan was fatally shot by police after stabbing two people to death, the day before the incident, the jury was told.
Kandhaiah, from Thamesmead, south-east London, had also Googled terms including “rat poison can kill people” and “I hate Britain”, the court heard.
Prosecutor Suki Dhadda suggested: “You had planned this, you armed yourself, you thought about it, you knew exactly what you were going to do… You only stopped because you were Tasered.
“You sprinted towards that officer with that knife in your right hand, ready to stab him.”
Kandhaiah said: “Why would I stab him? They are officers only doing their job. It’s not like they are my enemy.”
The trial continues.
