Female officer’s hand reattached as Met chief reveals horror injuries suffered by police in Hainault sword attack

1 May 2024, 08:11 | Updated: 1 May 2024, 14:28

Met police boss Sir Mark Rowley has said his officers were "on the ground in 12 minutes" after they were called to the Hainault sword attack on Wednesday.

The Met Police commissioner told LBC's Nick Ferrari the two officers yesterday were both 'really, horrifically, seriously injured" after running towards the swordsman, who killed a 14-year-old boy and injured two more.

The male inspector suffered serious hand injuries and a female officer came close to her hand being removed, Sir Mark said.

A 36-year-old suspect is currently in custody. The attacker was disarmed 22 minutes after police were called.

"People say officers run towards danger, Sir Mark said. "You've got officers running towards someone who is waving a sword. I went to hospital yesterday to see the officers and their families."

Read more: Chilling words of 'killer' during Hainault sword rampage as boy, 14, stabbed to death

Read more: 'It makes our job incredibly difficult': Police surrounded by cameras on protests as they make ‘on the hoof’ law changes

'We were on the ground in 12 minutes' says Sir Mark Rowley

"The surgeon spent many hours basically putting her arm back together. It's going to be a long journey of recovery." He said that the female officer was "not a million miles away" from losing her hand.

"I mean, really serious, horrific injuries," he added.

Watch Again: Nick Ferrari speaks to Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley 01/05

But Sir Mark said that the officers might be able to make a full recovery with months and perhaps years of physiotherapy - but it's "too early to be certain".

Addressing the officers who put themselves in danger to protect Londoners, Sir Mark said: "I find it massively humbling that they are so connected to the mission of protecting the public - what they do is absolutely extraordinary".

He added: "They will run towards danger - that's not a glib phrase, that's real... they do that day in, day out."

Witnesses said they heard the man, who was brandishing a sword, yelling "Do you believe in God?" as he prowled the streets.

Officers chased the attacker through several gardens before Tasering him. They could be heard shouting "Lock your doors".

The suspect is now in hospital after being arrested on suspicion of murder, police confirmed on Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile a minister said that enforcement rather than tougher legislation is needed to prevent incidents similar to the stabbings in Hainault on Tuesday.

Kemi Badenoch told LBC: "I think that enforcement is where we need to focus on. That is the remit of the Mayor of London. "We've banned all sorts of knives over the last 14, 15 years, this is not the first time we have done that.

"There has to be a limit to what we do before we just stop knives being produced, people have knives for legitimate reasons, but we should not be having machetes, zombie knives, samurai swords and so on for people to kill other people."

She added: "We have cracked down numerous times. People keep finding ways to get around them, so there might be more that we can do from a legislative side but I'm one of those people who thinks that bans can only go so far."