Migrant Male Charged Over London Sword Rampage That Killed Boy

The Metropolitan Police have charged a man with murder after a sword attack in East London on Tuesday that killed a teenage boy and injured several others, including police officers.

Update 1200 — Monzo appears in court

The man charged over Tuesday’s attack has now appeared in court, The Guardian reports. 36-year-old Spanish-Brazilian dual national Marcus Aurelio Arduini Monzo spoke only to confirm his name at Westminster magistrates court. The magistrate remanded him in custody until his appearance at the Old Bailey, England’s Central Criminal Court.

The original story continues below

The Metropolitan Police have charged a man with murder after a sword attack in East London on Tuesday that killed a teenage boy and injured several others, including police officers.

Spanish-Brazilian dual national Marcus Aurelio Arduini Monzo is alleged to have failed to have lived up to his namesake and is accused of having crashed a van into an adult man and then into a domestic property before attacking members of the public and police with what is described as a samurai style sword. A 14-year-old-boy Daniel Anjorin was killed, and four other people including two police officers were injured at the attack in Hainault, east London. One of those police officers is said to have very nearly had their hand totally severed.

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that 36-year-old Monzo has been charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of grievous bodily harm, aggravated burglary, and possession of a bladed article.

Detective Chief Inspector Larry Smith said: “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. I know that many people will want answers and we are working to provide them as soon as we can. 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.

“We are starting to build a picture of what happened on Tuesday and I want to thank everyone who has come forward to share dashcam, doorbell and mobile phone footage with us.”

Two police officers remain in hospital following Tuesday’s Hainault. The Associated Press noted claims that one of the officers had very nearly lost her hand, and that police did not challenge this version of events. That officer faces “a long journey of recovery” after surgeons had to spend many hours “basically putting her arm back together”.

The “really horrifically serious injuries” to the responding officers has re-ignited a debate about how police are equipped for their daily duties. It is stated the standard equipment, a taser stun-gun and a chemical spray used by responding officers was unable to incapacitate the man, having had “limited impact”, and he was able to flee some distance before being finally overpowered. London-focussed broadcaster LBC notes calls for police to be issued with handguns for such situations, as criminal violence increases.

It has been revealed that 14-year-old victim Daniel Anjorin was a pupil at London’s private Bancroft’s School, and is the second pupil from the school in less than a year stabbed to death. In June 2023, Bancroft’s girl Grace O’Malley-Kumar was a victim of the Nottingham knife attack, where dual-citizen Guinea-Bissau-Portuguese migrant Valdo Calocane stabbed members of the public and attempted to run over others with a van in the east midlands city.

The school flag at Bancroft’s was seen to be flying at half-mast in mourning this week.