Australians are among the six victims of a stabbing attack in London.
Police confirmed that two women and three men had been injured in the attack, while a 64-year-old US woman, Darlene Horton, had been killed. They also confirmed the injured to be British, US, Australian and Israeli nationals.
The 40-year-old Australian man and 23 year old Australian woman who were injured in the attack have requested that their privacy be respected, according to DFAT. Both have been released from hospital after being treated for stabbing wounds.
A third Australian was also at the scene but was unhurt, said DFAT.
The horrific attack occured on inner London’s Russell Square at around 10:30pm on Wednesday. Police arrived on the scene within minutes and Tasered the suspect 19-year-old Norwegian man who was taken to hospital under custody.
The attack was spontaneousand the victims selected at random, with “no evidence of radicalisation” according to Scotland Yard’s head of counter-terrorism, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, who spoke following a raid on the London address of the suspect.
“So far we have found no evidence of radicalisation or anything that would suggest the man in our custody was motivated by terrorism,” he told reporters..
“Whilst the investigation is not yet complete, all of the work that we have done so far increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues.”
The mass-stabbing took place on Russell Square; near the British Museum, an area popular with tourists.
Russell Square was also where a bomb exploded on a bus in the 7 July 2005 London terror attacks.