Man Charged With Attempted Murder Over Knife Attack on Senior British Army Officer

24-year-old Anthony Esan has been charged with attempted murder after a uniformed British Army Officer was stabbed close to Brompton Barracks in Kent, England, on Tuesday.

Update 1600: Attacker used machete to hack at Army officer, court hears

A court report from the Daily Telegraph states the court has heard the attack was launched with a machete — a wide, heavy chopping knife used for clearing vegetation — and two kitchen knives. They cite the prosecution as having said: “A member of the public called 999 saying someone had been stabbed with a machete.

“The victim was a soldier in uniform, the male’s [suspect’s] face was partially covered, he ran up behind and pulled the soldier to the ground and began stabbing him repeatedly with a large knife, a machete… got on top of a moped and drove off.”

Esan was in court for ten minutes and was reportedly not cooperative, refusing to answer his name, address, and date of birth. The case will be heard again in August, Esan will be held in custody until that time, and psychiatric reports on his fitness to plead will be produced.

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Anthony Esan was charged by Kent Police on Thursday morning and shortly afterwards appeared at Medway Magistrate’s Court. Kent Police say Esan, who was arrested on Tuesday, was charged with attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.

No information on Esan’s background has been officially released, but Esan is a traditional ethnic group with a distinct language in southern Nigeria.

Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teeton was stabbed repeatedly in Brompton, Kent on Tuesday afternoon. The attack took place in the presence of Lt. Col Teeton’s wife, who attempted to stop the attack, and just yards from Brompton Barracks where the officer works as an instructor at a British Army engineer’s school. The officer survived the attack, but remains in a “serious but stable” condition after sustaining a dozen knife wounds.

The attacker was captured on security cameras fleeing the scene on a moped-type bicycle. A man identified by Kent police as Esan was arrested within 35 minutes of the attack at his home address in Mooring Road, Rochester. Counter-terror police have been assisting the investigation but the attack has not yet been formally declared a terrorist incident and police say they are keeping an “open mind” about a motive.

This story is developing, more follows