A 36-year-old Brazilian man with dual Spanish nationality, Marcus Aurelio Arduini Monzoa, has been charged with murder for a sword attack in London that resulted in the death of a 14-year-old teenager. The attack, which lasted 22 minutes, also left four other people injured, including two police officers. The incident occurred in a town in northeast London around 7 in the morning.
Monzoa was reported to have cut the first victim, a pedestrian, in the neck before breaking into a family home and attacking the father. He then proceeded to murder Daniel Anjorin, a 14-year-old on his way to school, and nearly severed a police officer’s arm. Monzoa appeared in court charged with Anjorin’s murder, as well as two counts of attempted murder, two counts of grievous bodily harm, aggravated robbery, and possession of a sharp object.
The investigation into the attack is considered complex due to the number of crime scenes, forensic evidence, video surveillance recordings, and witnesses that authorities have to analyze. The attack began when a van crashed into a fence near a tube station in Hainault, triggering a series of violent events that left multiple victims injured.
Police received a call shortly before 7 am reporting the initial incident involving the van crash. Monzoa attacked multiple individuals, including a man who suffered neck injuries, a computer engineer who was stabbed while defending his family, and the teenage victim who later died in the hospital. Despite police arriving at the scene within minutes, they were unable to immediately neutralize the attacker, who continued to cause harm to officers and civilians before being arrested 22 minutes after the initial call.
The motive for the attack is currently unclear, with authorities ruling out a terrorist link. The incident comes amidst rising concerns about knife attacks in the UK and just days before local elections in London. The heroism of those who intervened to protect others during the attack has been praised, including the actions of Henry De Los Ríos Polania, who was injured while defending his family.