Woman, 11-year-old girl stabbed at London's Leicester Square; accused arrested

A woman and an 11-year-old girl were stabbed at popular London landmark Leicester Square on Monday, the police said. The woman and the child were rushed to the hospital while the accused man was arrested by the police, reported AFP.

Monday's attack occurred in Leicester Square, which is heavily visited by tourists at this time of year. Police said the two victims were taken to a hospital. The extent of their injuries was not immediately clear.

In an official statement, the police said, “Officers are at the scene of a stabbing in Leicester Square. A man has been arrested and is in custody. Two victims, an 11-year-old girl and a 34-year-old woman, have been taken to hospital and we await an update on their condition.”

No further details were given about the suspect.

BBC reported that the two victims were immediately rushed to a “major trauma centre”, hinting that the extent of the injuries are serious.

Read more: UK riots: How Telegram messaging app was used by extremists to stir trouble?

This comes in the midst of heightened disturbances and violence in Britain as rioters chanting anti-immigration and Islamophobic slogans clashed with the police. The disturbances have been fueled by right-wing activists using social media to spread misinformation about a knife attack that killed three girls during a Taylor Swift-themed dance event.

Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, and two other girls died and eight were injured after being stabbed in an attack at the event at the seaside town of Southport two weeks ago.

As of now, it is not known if the stabbing was in any way related to the ongoing unrest in the United Kingdom.

Police had been braced for further riots over the weekend, but no widespread unrest emerged. Ministers remained on high alert, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said, adding its work was not done in dealing with the fallout from the violence.

(With inputs from agencies)

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