'KNIFEMAN' CHARGED
Ioan Pintaru, 32, charged with attempted murder after girl, 11, stabbed & mum covered in blood in Leicester Square
He was remanded in custody and will appear in court this morning
A MAN has been charged with attempted murder after a girl was stabbed in Leicester Square yesterday.
Cops were called to the pedestrianised square in the West End of London at 11.34am where an 11-year-old was found with stab wounds.
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She was taken to hospital where her injuries, while serious, were assessed as non-life threatening.
The girl's mother, 34, was initially thought to have been hurt but blood from her daughter's injuries had been mistaken for injuries of her own, the Metropolitan Police said.
Ioan Pintaru, 32, of no fixed address, was charged with attempted murder and possession of a bladed article.
He was remanded in custody after appearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court today.
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Images obtained by The Sun showed police arresting a man at the scene yesterday.
Police said the man is not known to either of the victims and the stabbing is not currently being treated as terror-related.
Detective Chief Superintendent Christina Jessah, in charge of policing for Westminster, said: "This is a horrific incident and our thoughts are with the victims and their family.
"We will continue to provide support to them over the coming days and weeks.
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"I would like to pay tribute to the members of the public, including staff from local businesses, who bravely intervened in this incident.
"They put themselves at risk and showed the best of London in doing so.
"An urgent investigation is now ongoing and detectives are working to establish the details around exactly what happened.
"At this stage we don't believe the suspect and the victims were known to each other.
"While we continue to work to establish the suspect's motive, at this stage there is nothing to indicate the attack was terror-related."
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