A man has been arrested after a mother and her 11-year-old daughter were stabbed in an attack by “a stranger” in London's Leicester Square.
Police were called to the scene of the horror attack at 11.34am on Monday that took place in front of crowds of shocked tourists.
The Metropolitan Police said the girl’s injuries are serious and will require hospital treatment but are not life threatening.
Her mother, 34, suffered more minor injuries.
A police cordon was put in place surrounding the double doors of the TWG Tea shop.
A bloodied cloth and blood spatters could be seen on the pavement at the scene.
A 32-year-old man arrested at the scene is in custody and police said they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the attack.
The Met said it is not believed the man was known to the victims or the attack is terror-related.
A security guard has told how he "jumped on" and took a knife from the knifeman.
The guard, who gave his name as Abdullah, 29, said he had worked in security at the TWG Tea shop for the past "seven to eight months".
"I heard a scream, at that moment I saw there was one person, roughly mid-30s or early 30s, and he was like stabbing a kid - I jumped on him, held the hand in which he was (carrying) a knife, and just put him down on the floor and just held him and took the knife away from him,” he said.
"Then a couple of more people joined as well, and we just held him until the police came, it took maybe three to four minutes for the police to arrive and then they just took him into custody."
He and his colleagues gave first aid to the child before the police joined in, he said.
"I just saw a kid getting stabbed and I just tried to save her. It's my duty to just save them,” he added.
The square and the surrounding area have an estimated 2.5 million visitors every week and are home to shops, theatres, cinemas and restaurants.
The cordon is beside the LEGO store and in front of the M&M store, and the attack took place in front of families and tourists who were standing in queues for each.
One horrified witness said: “A lady and her daughter were just stabbed right by us at work.”
A lady and her daughter were just stabbed right by us at work #LeicesterSquare #stabbing pic.twitter.com/lQtnQ6mjMP
— ⚒️ Ben ⚒️ (@beniboi86) August 12, 2024
Another, called Alice, who works nearby, said: “I heard screaming. At first I thought it was another riot or protest starting or something. But then someone said ‘he’s stabbed a girl’. Some men were talking to police and a guy was in handcuffs when I came round the corner. People were just saying ‘oh my god’ and looking really shocked.”
Another woman who witnessed the aftermath of the attack said: “Someone was shouting a man had hold of a child’s head and was stabbing her. People were just in shock. All these tourists around and children on their holidays. It seems to be getting worse and worse.”
A witness, who gave his name as Desmond, 45, said the suspect in the attack was a white, skinny male wearing a black T-shirt and jeans.
He said the knifeman focused the attack on the girl, putting her in a headlock and stabbing her.
Desmond told reporters: "When I looked to my side, I saw a young man... was stabbing her several (times) with a knife."
He added: "It was so terrible, I've never seen a thing like that.
"I was heartbroken, I saw the woman was screaming with all her strength."
At least six police officers were at the scene after the attack.
Met Detective Chief Superintendent Christina Jessah said: “This is a horrific incident and our thoughts are with the victims and their family. We will continue to provide support to them over the coming days and weeks.
“I would like to pay tribute to the members of the public, including staff from local businesses, who bravely intervened in this incident. They put themselves at risk and showed the best of London in doing so.
“An urgent investigation is now ongoing and detectives are working to establish the details around exactly what happened.
“At this stage we don’t believe the suspect and the victims were known to each other.
“While we continue to work to establish the suspect’s motive, at this stage there is nothing to indicate the attack was terror-related.”
“Detectives will be keen to speak to anyone who was in the area and may have information that can assist with their enquiries. I would urge anyone who can help to get in touch.”
A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: "We were called at 11.36am on Monday August 12 to reports of a stabbing at Leicester Square.
"We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an advanced paramedic and an incident response officer. We also dispatched members of our tactical response unit.
"We treated a child and an adult at the scene and took them to a major trauma centre."
Police and ministers are separately on "high alert" over the violent disorder that swept through parts of Britain despite tensions appearing to subside over the weekend.
Police had been braced for further riots but no widespread unrest arose after a large turnout of anti-racism protesters and warnings that those involved could face 10-year prison sentences.
