A NORTHERN Irish man has recounted how he came upon the body at the scene of the Russell Square knife attack in central London last night.
Pól Ó Geibheannaigh, originally from Derry City, told The Irish Post how he came across the incident:
"I left the cinema about 10.55pm, just around the corner from Russell Square.
I was going for a late drink and the first thing I saw at the Tube station side were heavily armed police officers with automatic weapons."
According to Mr Ó Geibheannaigh's account, there were over thirty police vans, and over seventy police officers, some armed and some plain clothes.
Mr Ó Geibheannaigh says that, "in between the police cars, you could see a body lying there, with a blanket over it."
The body of the woman in her 60s lies at the scene of the stabbing incident in Russell Square. (Source: BBC News)According to Mr Ó Geibheannaigh no one in the bar across from the scene of the incident knew the details of what had happened, and had assumed it was a gang-related stabbing.
Mr Ó Geibheannaigh had been in London during the 7/7 attacks, and was in University at the time near Russell Square.
"I was there when the bomb went off at Tavistock square so seeing the armed police just brought back memories."
Shortly after the stabbing, Mr Ó Geibheannaigh says police officers came to the bar and asked people individually if they had seen anything.
"I asked what happened and they just said a woman had been stabbed. It was awful seeing the body at that time of night, but it was only when I got home and I saw the news reporting it as a possible terrorist attack did I realise [what it could be]."
In their latest statement, the Metropolitan Police Service said that a 19-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder following the attack which left one woman dead and five others injured.
The woman, who is believed to be in her 60s, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Two of the other victims remain in hospital.
A spokesperson for the police has said they are continuing to focus their lines of inquiry on mental health while retaining an open mind regarding the motive.
