Teen arrested over murder of woman, 64, in Russell Square has been charged
He has been named as Zakaria Bulhan, 19, and was described by former classmates as a “quiet, shy pupil” who was bullied at school
THE TEENAGER accused of stabbing a US tourist to death and wounding five others has been charged.
The 19-year-old suspect was named last night as Zakaria Bulhan, described by former classmates in South London as a “quiet, shy pupil” who was bullied at school.
Knifeman Zakaria Bulhan, 19, moved to the UK in 2002 from Norway
The tourist killed in the attack was identified as Darlene Horton, 64, the wife of a psychology professor.
Tragically, she was enjoying her last night in London as the couple were due to return home to Florida yesterday.
Last night devastated friends paid tribute to “one of the sweetest people there was”.
Martha Mitchell, 80, who has been on the same tennis team as Darlene for the past 12 years, said: “She was just a delight.
“She loved her tennis, she loved to play, she could run like the wind.”
One said he plunged his knife into the back of Ms Horton, leaving her slumped by railings and crying for help.
As fellow tourists used towels bought on a shopping trip to stem the flow of blood, her last words before she lost consciousness were: “He’s still here, he’s still here.”
Last night only one of the five survivors, a British man with stab wounds to his stomach, was still in hospital.
He was said to be in a serious condition but stable.
A male American and an Australian man were both stabbed in the chest, and an Australian woman was knifed in the back.
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Israeli Yovel Lewkowski, 18, who went to help the injured, was also stabbed in the arm.
Armed cops, who were not members of the elite counter-terrorism unit unveiled by the Met Police earlier that day, were on the scene within six minutes.
They pursued a man down nearby Bedford Place, screaming “Get down!” and “Stop!” before Tasering him to the ground outside the Pickwick Hall hostel.
Carsten Kamp, 19, who was staying there, said: “I had my window open and I heard a police car go by. A policeman was screaming, ‘Stop, stop!’
“A man ran directly under our window and the policeman was running after him with what looked like a machine gun.
“He fired twice. I think the man got hit in the legs and he was lying and not moving for a long time. I thought he was dead. Then he moved his legs. He was crying.”
A weapon was found near the scene, which is close to the British Museum and heavily populated by tourists.
Chanel Britton, 19, of Barnsley, who was staying in The Clarendon Hotel opposite, said: “We were sat having a drink at the window.
“Then we saw this man run down the street followed by police with their guns out. They shouted, ‘Get down’ but he carried on running.
“They shot him with a Taser and he fell to the ground.
“He was a black man in a white T-shirt.
“They were on the floor for about 40 minutes.
“There was a lot of screaming and shouting.
“He was complaining about chest pains and was taken away.”
A Brazilian cyclist, named as Fernando, 40, told how he saw a Spanish woman cradling the dying US tourist in her lap.
He said: “I was riding by and people screamed at me to stop.
Then I saw a white lady, in her sixties, slumped against the railings.
"She had her head in a Spanish woman’s lap, who was trying to keep her alive by talking to her.”
He called for an ambulance and added: “The lady told me the guy had passed by, running, stabbing people.
“I saw other victims.”
The alleged Somali-born attacker came to the UK from Norway with his family aged just five in 2002.
He is believed to have been known by mental health teams.
Police said there was no evidence the attack was linked to terrorism after raiding a number of addresses in the capital.
Last night an officer was stationed outside the family home in Tooting, South London.
Neighbour Parmjit Singh, 36, said: “His family were devout Muslims — his sister especially.
“I am shocked and in disbelief that he’s been arrested.
“I am gobsmacked because he was always so polite.
“He was a nice guy who loved playing football, very athletic.
“He was never violent and always went out of his way to help neighbours.”
Ex-classmates at Graveney School in Tooting said he was a “quiet, shy” Chelsea fan who was picked on when he was younger.
The Met’s counter-terrorism top cop, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said police had found no evidence he had been radicalised or had any link to terrorism.
He also paid tribute to his team, saying: “Our firearms officers bravely rushed to that scene with very little information.
“They would not have known if this was an act of terrorism or the random attack we now know it to be.
"They detained an armed and dangerous man, and resolved it using the minimum necessary force.
“No shots were fired.”
Officials said the couple had been due to return to the US yesterday after their students went home days earlier.
FSU President John Thrasher said: “We’re shocked that such senseless violence has touched our own FSU family.”
Ms Mitchell said players at her tennis club in Tallahassee were in shock yesterday.
She said: “No one could believe that someone from our tennis community could be killed on the streets of London.
"We couldn’t take it in.
“It’s a great loss to us.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “I urge all Londoners to remain calm and vigilant.
"We all have a vital role to play as eyes and ears for our police and security services.”
Link to mental illness
THE Russell Square killing could highlight flaws in mental health services, experts warned.
Sick patients are being left to deteriorate in the community because thousands of beds have been scrapped, says the mental health charity SANE.
The charity called on the Government to make in-patient psychiatric care a bigger priority.