Hainault sword attack live: Police to give update after man with blade 'attacks people and officers' (2024)

We were due to hear an update from the police at midday, but that has now been delayed by around 30 minutes.

We'll bring you all the latest when that happens.

Here you can see the extent of the policing operation around Hainault and the Tube station.

Several people have been taken to hospital after the attack, which started before 7am this morning.

Another angle from this morning appears to show a suspect walking outside a house with a large blade.

We have blurred the picture for legal reasons.

We shared other pictures earlier (see our 9.58am post).

The Metropolitan Police is holding a news conference at 12pm to provide an update on the incident.

We will bring you the latest news from the police statement here.

A witness, who didn't want to be named, has told Sky News they saw someone being given CPR while laying on the ground, and a man run out of a house, with a hand "bleeding quite badly".

They said: "I was driving up New North Road just after 7am, if felt eerie and strange, people were scurrying about looking around, like they were on alert for something or someone.

"I spoke to a few guys who told me a man was on the run after stabbing people.

"I see someone being given CPR in Laing Close and a guy run out of a house on Laing Close with his hand in the air bleeding quite bad.

"It was very scary and not something you expect to happen on your doorstep."

A former chief superintendent for the Met Police has given an insight into what goes through a police officer's head when reacting to a potentially dangerous situation.

Speaking to Sky News, Dal Babu said your first thoughts are "in many ways" about "what you can do to help and save people".

"You often forget the danger that you're facing as an individual, and you will just run towards an incident and you will do whatever can," he said.

"And it's an opportunity where all the training you've had, you will be putting that training into use.

"And so I think a lot of the officers will be in somewhat autopilot as they run towards that danger.

"They won't think of what normal people do, which is 'I need to run away from this.' They'll be running towards danger. And then they have to deal with things very, very quickly."

Susan Hall, the Tory candidate for London mayor, has said the attack is "deeply concerning".

"Thank you to the emergency services for everything you do to keep people safe," she added.

A witness has told the BBC that the alleged attacker was tasered by police after trying to get into a house.

Manpreet Singh said he "has never seen anything like that before".

Speaking to Radio 5 Live, he said: "I just walked out of the office, it was 7am and I heard chaos on the other side of the road.

"I saw a group of people, five or six of them, trying to fight off a guy - he had a sword on his hand."

Mr Singh said one of the people fighting off the suspect was stabbed, while others tried to call the police and ambulance services.

"There was about seven or eight police cars entering that road and after another 10 minutes, I saw the guy running towards the station and entered the road opposite the station.

"He tried to get into one of the houses but couldn't get into it and that's when they tasered him.

"We saw police trying to catch him, and he was trying to fight [them] off. In a matter of 15 minutes, all this had happened. He was cutting people, I heard he stabbed four or five people."

Hainault Church, which is a short walk from the scene, has issued a statement on social media.

Signed off by Reverend Keith John, the church says it is "deeply saddened" by the incident this morning.

"We pray for those who have been injured, and for their families," it states.

"We are grateful to all the first responders who are dealing with the situation with such professionalism.

"And, despite this morning's tragic incident, we celebrate this friendly, multicultural and vibrant community and we pray for all who live here."

Franklyn Gardens, where the church is located, is closed at the moment, but the church "will be open again as soon as possible", the statement adds.

This new picture from the scene of the attack shows a large grey van with significant damage on the right side of its bumper.

The doors at the back of the vehicle are also open and there is a police cordon around it.