In the terrorist attack in London civilians have probably prevented worse by their courageous intervention. An assassin had attended an event at the Fishmonger's Hall in central London. Subsequently, the 28-year-old, who carried an explosive dummy on his body, threatened to blow up the former shed of the Fishmonger's Guild.
According to a report in the daily The Times, the man was followed by several men in the direction of London Bridge. A passerby tried to spray the assassin with a fire extinguisher in the face, another had armed himself with the tusk of a narwhal, which hung in the guild hall as an ornament on the wall. A third man started with bare hands on the man. According to the Times, the man with the Narwal Tusk was a Polish cook working at Fishmonger's Hall.
Together, the men should have managed to wrest the assassin two knives, which he had taped to his hand. Policemen finally separated the wrestlers and shot the attacker, as can be seen on videos circulating on the Internet. London Mayor Sadiq Khan praised the "heroism of the passers-by who literally ran into danger without knowing what to expect, threatening their own safety.
The knife attack on early Friday afternoon had injured five people. A woman and a man subsequently died in the hospital. Another person is in critical but stable condition, according to the police. Britain's Queen Elizabeth sent "thoughts, prayers and deep sympathy" to all who have lost a loved one.
Convicted terrorist - released after six instead of 16 years
The assassin is a convicted terrorist who was released prematurely a year ago. The dismissal was carried out according to media reports routinely. "I have long argued that it is a mistake to release heavy and violent criminals prematurely from jail," said Boris Johnson on Friday night. The Prime Minister visited the scene on Saturday afternoon.
REUTERS
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, at the scene near London Bridge
Mayor Khan of the opposition Labor Party questioned whether the competent authorities had sufficient resources to monitor dangerous individuals. The topic falls in the middle of the election campaign. On December 12, the British will elect a new parliament. For Saturday, several campaign events were canceled out of respect for the victims.
The 28-year-old attacker was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2012 after planning an attack on the London Stock Exchange as part of a group of several extremists. He was also accused of wanting to build a training camp for terrorists in the Pakistani part of Kashmir. He was released on probation in December 2018, the police said. Several media reported that the man had worn an electronic ankle bracelet at the time of the attack.
Richter warned against assassins as a "permanent risk"
Now you have to find out how the man could carry out the assassination, said the head of the British anti-terrorist investigators, Neil Basu. According to the Guardian, the judge described the man's plans for the conviction as a "serious, long-term project" and warned that the man could pose a permanent public risk. Originally, the 28-year-old should not be released unless he is no longer considered a threat. This condition was later repealed.
After completing the investigation, the police did not search at first. However, it is being scrutinized if other people were involved in the crime, Scotland Yard said. In the County of Staffordshire in central England, an apartment was searched as part of the investigation. The place is located more than 200 kilometers from London.
The attack evokes memories of the summer of 2017. Eight people died in the British capital at the time, when terrorists with a transporter circled three passers-by on London Bridge and then stabbed five more at the Borough Market. Policemen shot the three culprits.
In March of the same year, an attacker drove a car on Westminster Bridge in several pedestrians, four passers-by died. The man also stabbed a police officer before he was shot dead by officials.
Only in November had security experts downgraded the risk of terrorism in Great Britain from "severe" to "substantial". Thus, an attack was only "likely" and no longer "highly probable".