An 82-year-old woman of Italian origin was beheaded at her home here by a machete-wielding suspect who may have been inspired by videos of the Islamic State’s recent gruesome killings of two captive American journalists.
Palmira Silva was found dead in the garden behind a house in Edmonton in north London. The armed suspect ran through a number of back gardens in the street attacking a cat and a car.
The accused was later apprehended after a chase.
Scotland Yard officials helped save two young children by plucking them from inside their home as they chased the 25-year-old man, who was arrested with the help of a Taser gun and remains in hospital under police guard.
He will be questioned by police once he is deemed fit, police said.
“This was a highly visible attack in broad daylight on a residential street. I can understand why this may cause people concern, however we are confident that we are not looking for anyone else at this stage,” said John Sandlin, who is leading the investigation for the Metropolitan Police.
Ruling out any terrorism angle, Sandlin said: “Whilst it is too early to speculate on what the motive behind this attack was I am confident, based on the information currently available to me, that it is not terrorist related.”
Local officers and specialist detectives are at the scene and will remain there for many hours to come.
Specially trained family liaison officers will be deployed to support the family; we request that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time, he added.
While the police is yet to confirm the kind of weapon used in the attack, witnesses have reported seeing a man wielding a machete-like foot-long blade.
The Met is also investigating a linked attempted attack on two people in another address on the same road who managed to escaped unhurt from the house.
