Police arrested a man over a stabbing attack in west London that left one person dead and two injured today, the force said, while ruling out a terrorist motive.
British media reported that the suspect was an Afghan national, while the Home Office confirmed only that he was a foreigner legally resident in the United Kingdom since 2022.
London police said in a statement that emergency services treated a 49-year-old man who died at the scene in the western suburb of Uxbridge.
Another man aged 45 was severely wounded and a boy of 14 suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, it said.
Police Chief Superintendent Jill Horsfall in the statement called it 鈥渁 shocking and senseless act of violence鈥.
The statement said police were not treating the attack as a terrorist incident and were investigating whether there were any links between the suspect and the victims.
The Home Office said the suspect entered Britain in a truck in 2020 and was granted asylum in 2022.
It said he was not living in a hotel or other accommodation provided by the authorities, as falsely claimed on social media.
Hotels housing asylum-seekers have been targeted by angry demonstrations over recent months after an Ethiopian man sexually assaulted a teenage girl and a woman.
The man was later convicted in that case, which added to anti-immigrant sentiment that has fuelled protests, riots and inflammatory social media messaging in Britain in recent months.
- Agence France-Presse
Take your Radio, Podcasts and Music with you
Get the iHeart App
Get more of the radio, music and podcasts you love with the FREE iHeartRadio app. Scan the QR code to download now.
Download from the app stores
Stream unlimited music, thousands of radio stations and podcasts all in one app. iHeartRadio is easy to use and all FREE