LONDON (AP) — A man stabbed an 11-year-old girl and her mother in London’s bustling theater district on Monday before being arrested, police said, adding that there was no indication that the attack was terrorism-related.
The attack occurred shortly before noon outside a tea shop in Leicester Square, a magnet for tourists with its shops and theaters.
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Discarded clothing and emergency medical equipment is seen inside the TWG Tea shop in Leicester Square, London, as a man has been arrested after an 11-year-old girl and 34-year-old woman were stabbed, in London, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. (James Manning/PA via AP)
Discarded clothing and emergency medical equipment is seen inside the TWG Tea shop in Leicester Square, London, as a man has been arrested after an 11-year-old girl and 34-year-old woman were stabbed, in London, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. (James Manning/PA via AP)
Police cordon off an area in Leicester Square, as a man was arrested with the accusation of stabbing an 11-year-old girl and 34-year-old woman, in London, Monday Aug. 12, 2024. (James Manning/PA via AP)
Blood is seen on the pavement as a man has been arrested after an 11-year-old girl and 34-year-old woman were stabbed in Leicester Square, in London, Monday Aug. 12, 2024. (James Manning/PA via AP)
A Police officer stands at the scene in Leicester Square, as a man was arrested with the accusation of stabbing an 11-year-old girl and 34-year-old woman, in London, Monday Aug. 12, 2024. (James Manning/PA via AP)
Workers from nearby shops leapt to the assistance of the victims. Officers arrived within four minutes and arrested the attacker, police said. Police said they weren't seeking anyone else in connection with the attack.
“I would like to pay tribute to the members of the public, including staff from local businesses, who bravely intervened in this incident,'' Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Superintendent Christina Jessah said. “They put themselves at risk and showed the best of London in doing so."
The victims were taken to a major trauma center. The girl required treatment but her life was not in jeopardy, police said. Her mother, 34, had less serious injuries.
The suspect is 32, and police said that at this stage, they don't believe he knew the victims.
“An urgent investigation is now ongoing and detectives are working to establish the details around exactly what happened,″ Jessah said.
The stabbing occurred during a recent rise in knife crime in Britain, which is on edge after days of violence as crowds spouting anti-immigrant and Islamophobic slogans clashed with police. The disturbances have been fueled by right-wing activists who used social media to spread misinformation about a mass stabbing that killed three girls during a Taylor Swift-themed dance event.
It was not clear if Monday's attack had any link to the unrest.
Police had braced for further riots over the weekend, but no widespread unrest occurred. Ministers remain on high alert, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said, adding that its work was not done in dealing with the fallout from the recent violence.
Discarded clothing and emergency medical equipment is seen inside the TWG Tea shop in Leicester Square, London, as a man has been arrested after an 11-year-old girl and 34-year-old woman were stabbed, in London, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. (James Manning/PA via AP)
Discarded clothing and emergency medical equipment is seen inside the TWG Tea shop in Leicester Square, London, as a man has been arrested after an 11-year-old girl and 34-year-old woman were stabbed, in London, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. (James Manning/PA via AP)
Police cordon off an area in Leicester Square, as a man was arrested with the accusation of stabbing an 11-year-old girl and 34-year-old woman, in London, Monday Aug. 12, 2024. (James Manning/PA via AP)
Blood is seen on the pavement as a man has been arrested after an 11-year-old girl and 34-year-old woman were stabbed in Leicester Square, in London, Monday Aug. 12, 2024. (James Manning/PA via AP)
A Police officer stands at the scene in Leicester Square, as a man was arrested with the accusation of stabbing an 11-year-old girl and 34-year-old woman, in London, Monday Aug. 12, 2024. (James Manning/PA via AP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the U.S military said, marking the most serious incident to threaten troops in over a year of America targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels.
Both pilots were recovered alive after ejecting from their stricken aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries. But the shootdown underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become over the ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis despite U.S. and European military coalitions patrolling the area.
The U.S. military had conducted airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels at the time, though the U.S. military’s Central Command did not elaborate on what their mission was and did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press.
The F/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, Central Command said. On Dec. 15, Central Command acknowledged the Truman had entered the Mideast, but hadn't specified that the carrier and its battle group was in the Red Sea.
“The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18,” Central Command said in a statement.
From the military's description, the aircraft shot down was a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 out of Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.
It wasn't immediately clear how the Gettysburg could mistake an F/A-18 for an enemy aircraft or missile, particularly as ships in a battle group remain linked by both radar and radio communication.
However, Central Command said that warships and aircraft earlier shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the rebels. Incoming hostile fire from the Houthis has given sailors just seconds to make decisions in the past.
Since the Truman's arrival, the U.S. has stepped up its airstrikes targeting the Houthis and their missile fire into the Red Sea and the surrounding area. However, the presence of an American warship group may spark renewed attacks from the rebels, like what the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower saw earlier this year. That deployment marked what the Navy described as its most intense combat since World War II.
On Saturday night and early Sunday, U.S. warplanes conducted airstrikes that shook Sanaa, the capital of Yemen that the Houthis have held since 2014. Central Command described the strikes as targeting a “missile storage facility” and a “command-and-control facility,” without elaborating.
Houthi-controlled media reported strikes in both Sanaa and around the port city of Hodeida, without offering any casualty or damage information. In Sanaa, strikes appeared particularly targeted at a mountainside known to be home to military installations. The Houthis later acknowledged the aircraft being shot down in the Red Sea.
The Houthis have targeted about 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023 after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage.
Israel’s grinding offensive in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, local health officials say. The tally doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The Houthis have seized one vessel and sunk two in a campaign that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by separate U.S.- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels.
The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the United Kingdom to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.
The Houthis also have increasingly targeted Israel itself with drones and missiles, resulting in retaliatory Israeli airstrikes.
The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64) steams in the Mediterranean Sea, Dec. 15, 2025. (Kaitlin Young/U.S. Navy via AP)
FILE - Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is moored near Split, Croatia, Feb. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File)
FILE - A fighter jet maneuvers on the deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea, June 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)
