London's Metropolitan Police have arrested a 47-year-old woman after four men were stabbed in Covent Garden on Wednesday.
In a statement, the force said officers were called to reports of a stabbing in the capital's popular shopping district at around 12:30 pm.
Four men, aged 34, 39, 42, and 52, were found with stab wounds and were taken to hospital, according to the statement. Police later said that two of the men remained in hospital with injuries that were "not believed to be life-threatening or life-changing," while the other two had been discharged.
A woman was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and assault and is in custody.
"While at an early stage of the investigation, this is believed to be a mental health-related incident," police said, adding that "officers seized a pair of scissors at the scene."
An ambulance crew, a paramedic, and an incident response officer responded to the incident along with London’s Air Ambulance, per the London Ambulance Service.
"We treated four patients at the scene and took them all to a major trauma centre as a priority by road," the service said in a post on social media.
The police had used tasers to arrest the woman, according to a witness working in a nearby restaurant and added that the woman was known locally as a homeless person who regularly frequented the area.
"I saw the lady get tased (tasered) by the police; it was the only way they could get her to drop the knife," the witness said.
The Covent Garden street where the incident unfolded, lined with stores and outdoor seating, was cordoned off with police tape for several hours.
Striking images published by media showed an air ambulance helicopter in nearby Trafalgar Square.
According to another witness, the attacker was "always on this street; she was homeless and never wore shoes."
