A Norwegian national of Somali origin has been arrested on suspicion of murdering an American woman and injuring five others, including Britons, in what was described by police as a “spontaneous attack”.
Speaking outside Scotland Yard headquarters, Metropolitan police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said there was no evidence that the 19-year-old suspect had been radicalised or was motivated by terrorism and reasserted the view that “mental health issues” played a significant role.
The suspect emigrated from Norway to the UK in 2002, at the age of five, according to the Norwegian Embassy.
“While the investigation is not yet complete, all of the work we have done so far increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues,” Rowley said. “Indeed at this time we believe it was a spontaneous attack and the victims were selected at random.”
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