Mother of Romanian man Ioan Pintaru suspected of stabbing tourist, 11, in Leicester Square says she is 'deeply sorry for what happened to that girl'

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The mother of a Romanian man suspected of randomly stabbing an 11-year-old girl in London’s Leicester Square said last night: ‘I’m deeply sorry for what happened to that little girl.’

The Mail tracked down Ioan Pintaru’s mother, Magda Girla, to his hometown of Pucioasa, around 65 miles north west of the capital Bucharest.

She said she last spoke to her 32-year-old son, who goes by his middle name Alexandru, on the morning of the attack, on Monday.

The next thing Mrs Girla knew was her son had been arrested for allegedly stabbing the girl, an Australian tourist on a trip to the UK, with a steak knife near the Lego store in one of the capital’s busiest tourist areas.

When asked what she thought about the incident, Mrs Girla, a mother-of-two, pleaded with the Mail: ‘Please send this message to everybody, I’m deeply sorry for what happened to that little girl. 

'I suffer together with her mother and I can’t describe the pain I’m in. I’m also a mother and I understand what she must be going through.’

Mrs Girla revealed Pintaru had worked as a long-distance lorry driver for the past 10 years and had ‘no social life.’

He moved to England around six years ago and had been in a long term relationship with the mother of his four-year-old daughter.

In May 2022, Mrs Girla said, he returned home to Romania.

He returned to the UK in May for work, but was injured in a road traffic accident a few weeks later, which forced him to look for a new employer.

Mrs Girla, who is a full-time carer for her bed-ridden elderly father, said she had only heard from her son sporadically since he returned to the UK and had no idea where he was living.

Pintaru was described as homeless when he appeared before District Judge Michael Snow at Westminster Magistrates Court this week. He is charged with attempted murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place.

The court heard Pintaru allegedly pounced on the child grabbing her in a headlock before stabbing her eight times in the face, neck, shoulder and wrist. She will need plastic surgery for her injuries, District Judge Snow was told.

The incident could have proved fatal but for the quick thinking of a shop security guard who jumped on top of the assailant, disarming and restraining him until police arrived a few minutes later.

Police initially thought the girl’s mother had also been stabbed but it later emerged she had been covered in her daughter’s blood as she tried desperately to help her.

Pintaru was remanded in custody and is due to appear at the Old Bailey on September 10.

The girl and her mother were Australian tourists on holiday in the capital.

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