Counter-terrorism officers investigating Speaker’s Corner knife attack on woman in Charlie Hebdo t-shirt

Police Scotland said the family of an 11-year-old boy have been made aware of the incident (Joe Giddens/PA)
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Robert Dex @RobDexES27 July 2021
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Counter-terrorism officers are leading the investigation into a knife attack at Speaker’s Corner on a woman wearing a Charlie Hebdo t-shirt.

Police were called to Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park at 3.34pm on Sunday to reports of an assault.

A 39-year-old woman was taken to a London hospital for treatment to her injuries and has now been discharged.

Scotland Yard said the incident, in which the woman was slashed in the head, was not “being treated as terrorism-related at this time”.

However, the force said officers are keeping an open mind about possible motives.

The Met said: “A number of people witnessed the incident and took mobile phone footage. We would ask those people to contact police and tell us what they know, if they have not already done so.”

The investigation is now being led by the Met’s SO15 Counter Terrorism Command, the force said on Monday.

Footage shared on social media showed someone dressed in black approaching a woman wearing a Charlie Hebdo T-shirt.

The woman was later seen clutching her right hand close to her body and with what appeared to be blood at her temple as she was helped into a police van by officers who were nearby.

No arrests have been made and a knife was found near the scene of the attack.

On Sunday, the Met asked people not to speculate on the motive for the attack.

An attack at the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo by Islamic extremists killed 12 people in January 2015.

The magazine had published a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police via 101 or @MetCC quoting reference Cad 4376/25Jul. Alternatively, to remain anonymous, witnesses can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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