School stabbing suspect was 'distressed' in local mosque

A 13-year-old suspected of stabbing two children at a school in London was arrested after being seen acting “distressed” at a mosque, police have said.

- ALEX ROSS

The Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism unit is leading the investigation after the two boys, aged 12 and 13, were injured at Kingsbury High School in Brent on Tuesday.

Speaking at a media briefing yesterday afternoon, Detective Chief Superintendent Helen Flanagan said she believed the suspect, who was a former pupil, arrived at the school at around 12.30pm, before entering a first-floor classroom where he allegedly sprayed a pupil with a non-noxious substance.

She added: “The suspect has then attacked another pupil, a 13-year-old, in that classroom, stabbing him, and then the suspect left, running down the hallway of the school and the stairs.

“As he was leaving, he then attacks another victim, a 12-year-old, stabbing him before running off and away from the school.”

After a manhunt was launched, she said, the force received a call from a member of the public concerned over a child appearing “distressed” at a mosque in northwest London.

Officers then arrested a 13-year-old, a British national, on suspicion of attempted murder in the vicinity of the mosque at 4.50pm. He remains in custody as officers try to establish the motive for the attack, which is not being treated as a terrorist incident at this stage.