Hero security guard tells of how he helped Australian girl stabbed in London’s Leicester Square

A security guard has told of how he saved an 11-year-old Australian girl after she was put in a headlock and stabbed eight times in a popular tourist hotspot in the UK.

The hero security guard who saved an 11-year-old Australian girl from a horrific stabbing attack in London said he acted on instinct after he heard screams.

The little girl, from NSW, was stabbed eight times after being put in a headlock while visiting the TWG Tea store with her mother in the bustling tourist area of Leicester Square on Monday, local time.

The child, who underwent plastic surgery for non-life-threatening injuries, has since been discharged from hospital.

Security guard Abdullah, who was working at the iconic tea shop and ran to tackle the alleged attacker, kicking the knife away, was honoured for his bravery at independence day celebrations at Pakistan’s London High Commission.

He told the ABC he was acting on instinct.

“I would say that I’m a brave person. We Pakistanis are brave by heart, so I wasn’t scared,” he said.

Abdullah says he will never forget seeing the attack on the young Australian girl in Leicester Square. Picture: ABC News

The security guard said the first sign of trouble was when he first “heard a scream” in the shop about 11.30am.

He immediately sprang into action, running to the alleged attacker and jumping on top of him.

“I started running towards the guy. I jumped on the guy and held his hand, which was carrying the knife,” Abdullah said.

“I tackled him down on the floor and then kicked the knife away from him. And there were a couple of guys who came for help and they grabbed him as well.”

Abdullah said he and several others held the man down for around four minutes until police arrived, describing the traumatic scene inside the tea shop.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before, it was horrible,” he said.

Items on the floor of the TWG Tea shop in Leicester Square, London. Picture: AFP

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said assistance was being provided to two Australian tourists injured in the attack, however, UK police said only the young girl had been physically hurt, Reuters reported.

While it was initially believed the girl’s mother, 34, was also hurt, police said that blood from her daughter’s injuries had been mistaken for injuries of her own.

A 32-year-old man, Ioan Pintaru, appeared in a London court charged with attempted murder.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that Pintaru, who spoke through a translator, was a Romanian citizen with no fixed address.

Pintaru had “approached the girl, placed her into a headlock, he’s then stabbed her eight times to the body”, prosecutor David Burns told the court.

Pintaru was detained by members of the public and was found with a “steak knife”, it was alleged in court.

Ioan Pintaru, 32, was described as a Romanian citizen, of no fixed address, who required a translator during an appearance in court. Picture: Facebook

Police have said Pintaru, who was remanded in custody to appear in court again on September 10, did not know the girl or her mother.

The latest stabbing elevates fears riots could return with the start of the UK Premier League this weekend.

Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 18, is charged with three counts of murder, and 10 of attempted murder, over the attack on the Southport dance class two weeks ago. Born in Wales to Rwandan parents, Rudakubana will face court on October 25.

Police outside the tea shop after the stabbing. Picture: AFP

The UK government, meanwhile, welcomed the “de-escalation” of protests and rioting over the weekend as the nation farewelled the three girls killed at a Taylor Swift dance class.

“But we’re certainly not complacent and remain on high alert,” the prime minister’s spokeswoman said.

As of Monday, 975 people had been arrested and over 500 charged for involvement in the disorder, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

Two 12-year-old boys on Monday pleaded guilty to violent disorder, becoming the youngest to admit taking part in the riots.

One was accused of throwing a missile at a police van in Manchester.

District Judge Joanne Hirst said the boy – who cannot be named due to his age – had been more involved in the violence than any other accused person she had seen “coming through these courts, adult or child”.

Authorities prepared for unrest throughout the country as mourners remembered Alice Da Silva, 9 who was killed alongside Bebe King, 6, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, in the Southport stabbing.

“She was taken from us in an unimaginable act of violence that has left our hearts broken beyond repair,” her family said in a statement, adding she was “full of joy, light, and love”.

Murder suspect: Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 18. Child victims: Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9. Hero survivor: Leanne Lucas, 35.

HOW DANGEROUS IS CENTRAL LONDON?

In its official advice about the United Kingdom, the Australian Government’s SmartTraveller website states that violent crimes “such as muggings, knife crime and sexual assaults occur across the UK”.

The past decade has seen violent incidents at many major London tourist sites, including Westminster Bridge and Borough Market.

Leicester Square is one of London’s key tourist sites, visited by a quarter of a million people every day. It’s rated as a “high threat area”, with police always on patrol in and around the area.

UK Police statistics show there were 15,016 knife offences in metropolitan London in the year leading up to March 2024, including 4364 assault with injury incidents - a rate of almost 12 per day.

HOW MUCH KNIFE CRIME IS IN THE UK?

Knife crime is a huge issue in the UK. According to the Home Office, there were 50,500 offences involving a sharp instrument in England and Wales in the 12 months leading up to March 2023 - a 4.7 per cent increase on the year before, and a 72 per cent increase on 2014/15.

In a country with relatively low gun crime, sharp instruments are also used in about 40 per cent of homicides, according to government statistics.

The issue has also recently been rated the third-most pressing issue in voter surveys.

A campaign launched by actor Idris Elba in January called for a ban on the sale of machetes and implements known as “zombie knives,” blades that are more than 20cm in length.

The former government announced it was stopping the sale of such items at the time of Elba’s campaign, with the ban due to take effect in September.

But anger over knife crime remained a key issue in the lead-up to the July 4 election, with Labour leader Keir Starmer promising to cut knife crime by half, and asking voters to call him to account on the issue within six months of his prime ministership. A bill to ban the sale of samurai-style swords has already been introduced to parliament but critics say the legislation has too many loopholes.

The stabbing deaths of three young girls at a Taylor Swift dance class in Southport, Merseyside, reignited calls for more action on the sale of knives.