Man, 32, in court after girl, 11, is stabbed in Leicester Square (2024)

895 shares

An 11-year-old girl will require plastic surgery after being stabbed eight times with a steak knife at Leicester Square while on holiday with her mother, a court has heard.

Ioan Pintaru, 32, allegedly put the child in a headlock while attacking her before he was restrained by members of the public, then police arrived and arrested him.

The girl was left with injuries to the face, shoulder, wrist and neck after the 'random attack' at the London tourist spot with her 34-year-old mother at 11.34am yesterday.

Pintaru, a Romanian citizen of no fixed abode, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court today charged with attempted murder and possession of a bladed article.

He wore a grey prison-issue sweatshirt and the court heard he is a Romanian citizen. The charges were read to him through an interpreter during the ten-minute hearing.

Pintaru was remanded in custody to next appear at the Old Bailey on September 10. He has a four-year-old child who lives in Manchester, but he is currently homeless.

David Burns, prosecuting, told the court that a woman and her 11-year-old daughter were in Leicester Square as tourists when the defendant 'approached the 11-year-old girl, placed her into a headlock, he's then stabbed her eight times to the body'.

He added: 'She sustained wounds to the face, shoulder, wrist and neck area. Fortunately members of the public intervened, which prevented any further injury being made to the child.'

Mr Burns said officers were called and 'found the defendant being held by the members of the public'.

The prosecutor added: 'He was detained and searched and found a knife on his person.

'In relation to the complainant - she was taken to hospital and she currently resides in hospital where she's undergoing treatment.

'I understand that she required plastic surgery for the injuries she sustained.'

District Judge Michael Snow described the incident as a 'random attack on a child'.

He told Pintaru: 'These charges must be tried at the Central Criminal Court. You must remain in custody pending that appearance.'

The girl's 34-year-old mother was initially thought to have also been hurt but blood from her daughter's injuries was mistaken for injuries of her own, the Metropolitan Policesaid.

The girl went to hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries.

Detectives added that that there was no suggestion the incident was terror-related, and they do not believe the suspect and the victims were known to each other.

A police cordon sealing off the crime scene surrounded the double doors of the TWG Tea shop yesterday, which is beside the Lego store and in front of the M&Ms store.

Leicester Square and the surrounding area attracts an estimated 2.5million visitors every week and is home to shops, theatres, cinemas and restaurants.

Detective Chief Superintendent Christina Jessah said: 'This is a horrific incident and our thoughts are with the victims and their family. We will continue to provide support to them over the coming days and weeks.

'I would like to pay tribute to the members of the public, including staff from local businesses, who bravely intervened in this incident. They put themselves at risk and showed the best of London in doing so.

'An urgent investigation is now ongoing and detectives are working to establish the details around exactly what happened.'

Witnesses or anyone with footage or images of the incident have been asked to call 101 or to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, ref 2745/12AUG