Three Stabbed in Central London Attack

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Three people were taken to hospital after being stabbed in Central London on Thursday morning, City of London Police said, in an incident officers are treating as a robbery rather than terrorism.

"We received reports of three stabbings & a person pushed to the floor on Bishopsgate at 9.46am [08:46 GMT] & officers arrived at the scene at 9.51am. Three victims were taken by LAS to a nearby hospital to be treated. This is an ongoing situation, but is not being treated as terror-related," the police force tweeted.

The motive for the attack, which took place in the heart of London's financial center, has not been established. However, the Daily Mail reported that eyewitnesses claim the victims attempted to stop two people on electric bicycles from stealing a mobile phone. Another theory relayed by the Guardian was that someone was attempting to steal a bicycle.

City of London Police force later clarified that a video circulating on social media showing their officers arresting a suspect did not relate to this incident.

More than 11,100 offenses were recorded by the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police between March 2021 and March 2022, an increase of 10% on the previous year, according to the Office of National Statistics.

The issue of knife crime, in particular relating to fatal stabbings of boys and young men, overshadows political debate in London. Some attacks have been treated as terror-related. On November 29, 2019 a convicted terrorist on early release stabbed five people, killing two on London Bridge in the City, before police officers shot him dead.

Carrying most knives in public without a good reason is an illegal in the United Kingdom.