LONDON – The British police named a 14-year-old boy killed in a sword attack in London this week as Daniel Anjorin and said the suspect will face murder and other charges over the violent rampage.

The teenager died on April 30 as he walked to school in Hainault, in the east of Britain’s capital, when he was attacked by a man wielding what appeared to be a samurai-type sword.

The police tasered and arrested the suspect, a 36-year-old man who was not previously known to the police.

They named the suspect as a Spanish-Brazilian national, Marcus Aurelio Arduini Monzo, and said he would appear in Barkingside Magistrates Court on May 2.

He has also been charged with “two counts of attempted murder, two counts of grievous bodily harm, aggravated burglary, and possession of a bladed article”, the police said in a statement.

‘Profound shock’

The independent school attended by Daniel said in a statement on May 1 that it had been left in “profound shock and sorrow” at the pupil’s death.

“He was a true scholar, demonstrating commendable dedication to his academic pursuits. His positive nature and gentle character will leave a lasting impact on us,” Bancroft’s, in Woodford Green, near Hainault, said.

London’s Metropolitan Police force said the horror on April 30 unfolded just before 7am when the accused is alleged to have crashed a van into a house fence, hitting a 33-year-old man before allegedly stabbing him in the neck.

He is then alleged to have attacked a 35-year-old man inside a nearby property, causing lacerations to his arm, before Daniel was killed.

The police arrived on the scene 12 minutes after the first emergency call and attempted to neutralise the suspect with incapacitant spray and a Taser gun but these had little effect.

The suspect is alleged to have seriously injured two police officers, both of whom required surgery on April 30 and remain in hospital.

One, a woman, suffered severe injuries to her arm and nearly lost a hand, the Met said.

The man fled again as terrified witnesses took cover in houses before the police used a Taser to overpower him, detaining him 22 minutes after the initial call.

“This is a complex investigation due to the number of crime scenes, forensic evidence, hours of CCTV footage and witnesses we need to speak to,” Mr Larry Smith, the detective leading the investigation, said in a statement.

“I know that many people will want answers and we are working to provide them as soon as we can”, he added. “I would also echo previous calls for patience as my officers carry out a painstaking investigation to deliver justice for Daniel, his family, those injured and the wider community.”

The police have said the attack was not terror related.

It came amid a rise in stabbings in Britain and shortly before voters decide in local elections on May 2 whether to re-elect London Mayor Sadiq Khan for a record third term.

Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has criticised the opposition Labour Party’s Mr Khan for his record on crime.

Daniel ’s death is the second recent tragedy to hit Bancroft’s, after a former pupil, Ms Grace O’Malley-Kumar, was killed in Nottingham in 2023 as she tried to save her friend from a knife attacker.

Valdo Calocane was sentenced to indefinite detention in a psychiatric hospital for stabbing to death 19-year-old O’Malley-Kumar, fellow student Barnaby Webber and 65-year-old school caretaker Ian Coates. AFP