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2015 Leytonstone tube station attack

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Target
  
Members of the public

Non-fatal injuries
  
3

Suspected perpetrator
  
Muhaydin Mire

Total number of deaths
  
0

Weapons
  
Knife

Victims
  
3

Date
  
5 December 2015

Attack type
  
Stabbing

2015 Leytonstone tube station attack httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Location
  
Leytonstone, London, United Kingdom

On 5 December 2015, a man armed with what was described as a 3-inch (7.5 cm) knife attacked three people at Leytonstone tube station in East London.

Contents

One of the three victims was seriously injured, and the other two sustained minor stab wounds. The suspected perpetrator was named as 29-year-old Muhaydin Mire of Leytonstone.

Incident

The Metropolitan Police were called to reports of a series of stabbings at Leytonstone station. The male suspect was reportedly threatening other people with the bread knife he had used in the stabbings. Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service attended the scene. During the attack, the suspect was reported to have declared, "This is for Syria, my Muslim brothers." The phrase "This is for Syria" is the statement used by the perpetrators of the shooting at the Bataclan theatre during the November 2015 Paris attacks. The attacker also shouted, "All your blood will be spilled".

Some bystanders pelted the perpetrator with bottles while another shouted, "Put it down [the knife], you fool". Others filmed the scene on their mobile phones.

At 19:14, the suspect was arrested and taken to a police station in east London where he remained in custody. A Taser was used by one of the officers during the arrest. One victim sustained serious, but not life-threatening, knife injuries. Two others were treated for minor injuries.

One bystander apparently confronted the perpetrator and received a cut to his neck. The bystander criticised others for recording the incident rather than aiming to stop the assailant. A junior doctor was present at the scene of the stabbing and tended to the seriously wounded victim, bringing him back to consciousness.

Suspect

Muhaydin Mire, 29, of Leytonstone, was named as the suspect. He appeared at the Old Bailey on 7 December and was charged with attempted murder of the 56-year-old man who was seriously injured. Mire was sectioned under the Mental Health Act for examination to determine his state of mind.

According to his brother, Mire had a history of mental illness, having spent three months in hospital due to paranoia, and he had relapsed in August 2015. The brother said that Mire would telephone him with odd, delusional messages, but none of them had a political theme.

Mire's family sought urgent medical help trying to get him sectioned, around a month before the attack. This was rejected by authorities, who found him to be of no risk to himself or others. As a final resort, Mire's brother "decided to move him out the country [to see his mother]...I decided to book a ticket for him on this Sunday. He was okay as far as I know. He wanted to go".

Mire was convicted of attempted murder and four counts of attempting wounding. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and has started to serve his term at Broadmoor Hospital.

"You ain't no Muslim, bruv"

During a video of the alleged perpetrator being subdued by police, a bystander subsequently identified by the first name John shouted, "You ain't no Muslim, bruv. You ain’t no Muslim." John, whose full name has not been made public and who is not a Muslim, told The Sunday Times, "I saw the guy. I was like, well you ain’t a Muslim ... That’s my views, and I had to let him know that." He added, "People look at Muslims, and look at Isis, and think they’re all the same. But obviously they’re not".

Consequently, the hashtag #YouAintNoMuslimBruv trended on Twitter, becoming the top trending topic in the UK on the morning following the attack. The Guardian noted that it was a "perfect riposte to attempts to spread violence and terror in London." The Independent stated the "phrase has become a unifying call among people condemning the attack on social media." On 7 December, the phrase was repeated by British Prime Minister David Cameron, who said in a speech, "Some of us have dedicated speeches and media appearances and sound-bites and everything to this subject but 'you ain't no Muslim, bruv' says it all, much better than I ever could and thank you because that will be applauded all around the country."

Reactions

Local MP for Leyton and Wanstead, John Cryer of the Labour Party, described the attack as "barbaric" but stated it would be "dangerous" to directly link it to the British airstrikes against ISIS in Syria without proof. Cryer, who voted against the airstrikes and stated "I was opposed to the airstrikes in Syria... I think they will prove to be quite a major mistake", nevertheless said "I am not convinced this will be connected to the airstrikes in Syria"

Imam Imran Patel, of Leytonstone Mosque, said that the alleged perpetrator was "not a member of the congregation of Leytonstone and for his actions he can only answer for himself. We strongly condemn any sort of violence and terrorism. Islam does not allow, and does not have any place for violent acts".

In February 2017, Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, accused the media of dishonesty because, in his view, they do not report terror attacks. On 7 February 2017, the White House released a list of 78 attacks that they claimed were 'underreported' by the media. The 2015 Leytonstone Attack was one of the attacks on the list. As the attack was both widely covered at the time and perpetrated by a mentally ill individual, many people are disputing its inclusion.

References

2015 Leytonstone tube station attack Wikipedia