2020 Streatham stabbing

2020 Streatham stabbing
Part of Islamic terrorism in Europe and terrorism in the United Kingdom
Streatham High Road (the site of the attack) in 2009
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LocationStreatham, London, England, United Kingdom
Coordinates51°25′53″N 0°07′46″W / 51.431433°N 0.129356°W / 51.431433; -0.129356
Date2 February 2020
14:00 GMT (UTC±0)
Attack type
Stabbing
Weapons
Deaths1 (the attacker)
Injured3 (2 directly, 1 indirectly)[1]
AssailantSudesh Mamoor Faraz Amman
MotiveJihadism (Islamic terrorism) [2]

On 2 February 2020, two people were stabbed in Streatham, London in what police termed a terrorist incident. The attacker, Sudesh Amman, was shot dead by the police. A nearby woman was slightly injured by broken glass as a result. At the time Amman was under active counter-terrorism surveillance, after having recently being released from prison on licence; he had been convicted in 2018 for disseminating terrorist material. Following the attack, the British government introduced the Terrorist Offenders Bill, a piece of emergency legislation intended to prevent those convicted of terrorist offences from being released early from prison; this bill was approved by Parliament and came into force by the end of the month.

Incident

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On 2 February 2020, having left his probation hostel, Amman walked to Streatham High Road.[3]

At about 14:00 GMT (UTC±0), Amman stabbed two people on Streatham High Road in London in what the police described as a terrorist incident.[4][5] The attacker, who had stolen a knife from a store just before the incident and wore silver canisters strapped to his chest, was chased along Streatham High Road and then shot dead by police outside the doors of a Boots chemists.[6][7][8][9]

Victims

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A man and a woman were stabbed during the attack, and another woman was injured when police shot the attacker. The man in his 40s was taken to hospital and was initially in a life-threatening condition, which subsequently became less serious. A woman in her 50s was also taken to hospital, and was in a stable condition after being stabbed in the back by Amman. The other woman, in her 20s, was injured by glass following the shooting and treated for minor injuries at the scene before being taken to hospital.[8][9]

Attacker

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The attacker was identified as Sudesh Mamoor Faraz Amman. He had been sentenced in 2018 by Judge Mark Lucraft to three years and four months in prison for disseminating terrorist material and collecting information that could be useful to a terrorist.[10][11][12] A college student at the time of his arrest, he had shared an al-Qaeda magazine in a family WhatsApp group and told his siblings: "the Islamic State is here to stay". Amman also said to his girlfriend that she should kill her unbelieving parents. The head of the Metropolitan police counter terrorism command said Amman had a "fierce interest in violence and martyrdom" and that "his fascination with dying in the name of terrorism" was evident in a notepad found at his home.[5] At the time of the Streatham incident, he had recently been released from prison.[9][13] During his 2018 trial, the prosecution stated that Amman "had discussed with his family, friends and girlfriend his strong and often extreme views on jihad, the kuffar, and his desire to carry out a terrorist attack".[14]

Following his release in January 2020, Amman was "under active counter-terrorism surveillance".[15] According to The Guardian, the attacker was "considered to pose a serious risk, and was well known to the counter-terror authorities, he was also the subject of a live investigation".[16]

Reactions

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson thanked the emergency services for responding to the incident, and said that his thoughts were "with the injured and all those affected". Mayor of London Sadiq Khan thanked the "police, security and emergency services staff for their swift and courageous response".[17] Home Secretary Priti Patel said "My first thoughts are with the victims, our brave police and emergency services and their families".[18]

On 3 February, the government announced that emergency legislation would be introduced to end the automatic release of prisoners convicted of terrorism from being released after serving half their sentence. Secretary of State for Justice Robert Buckland told the House of Commons that the new law would apply to current and future prisoners.[19][20] Lord Carlile, a barrister and former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, suggested the government could face a legal challenge if the new legislation was applied retrospectively.[21] The Terrorist Offenders Bill was presented to parliament on 11 February.[22] On 12 February, the Bill cleared all of the stages required for it to pass through the House of Commons, doing so without the need for a vote.[23] The bill received Royal assent on 26 February, and went into effect, immediately preventing the automatic release of 50 convicted terrorists.[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Officers investigated over Streatham attack crash". BBC News. 2 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ Streatham terror attack: How the final moments of Sudesh Amman's life unfolded, 20 August 2021, retrieved 23 November 2023
  4. ^ "Streatham stabbing attack victim named as Monika Luftner". BBC News. 4 February 2020.
  5. ^ a b Dodd, Vikram; Sabbagh, Dan; Syal, Rajeev (2 February 2020). "Streatham attacker freed from jail days ago after terror conviction". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
  6. ^ Mills, Jen (2 February 2020). "Man shot by police as several stabbed in London terror attack". Metro. Metro. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  7. ^ Weaver, Matthew; Walawalkar, Aaron (2 February 2020). "Streatham: man shot dead by police after stabbings in south London – latest updates". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Streatham: Man shot by police after stabbings in London". BBC News. BBC News. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  9. ^ a b c Weaver, Matthew; Walawalkar, Aaron (2 February 2020). "Streatham: attacker named as convicted terror offender Sudesh Amman – latest updates". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  10. ^ "London terror attack: Suspect with hoax bomb shot dead, 3 injured". Outlook India. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Sentencing remarks of His Honour Judge Mark Lucraft QC R -v- Sudesh Faraz Amman" (PDF). 17 December 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  12. ^ "London terror attack: Suspect with hoax bomb shot dead, 3 injured". Outlook India.com. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  13. ^ "Streatham attacker had been released from jail". BBC News. BBC. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  14. ^ "Teenage Isis supporter who encouraged girlfriend to behead her 'disbeliever' parents jailed". The Independent. 17 December 2018. Archived from the original on 17 December 2018.
  15. ^ Horton, Helena (2 February 2020). "Streatham attack latest: suspected terrorist shot dead in London was wearing a hoax bomb – live updates". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  16. ^ Davies, Caroline; Dodd, Vikram (2 February 2020). "Police shoot man dead after 'terror-related' stabbing attack in Streatham". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
  17. ^ Rodger, James (2 February 2020). "Streatham terror attack: Sadiq Khan and Boris Johnson both speak out". Birmingham Mail. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  18. ^ "Man shot dead by police in terrorist-related incident". Lancaster And Morecambe Citizen. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  19. ^ "Streatham attack: Emergency terror law to end early prisoner release". BBC News. BBC. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  20. ^ "Government response to the Streatham incident". GOV.UK. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  21. ^ "Streatham attack: Terror sentence changes 'face legal battle'". BBC News. BBC. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  22. ^ "Emergency terror law presented to Parliament". BBC News. BBC. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  23. ^ Cowburn, Ashley (12 February 2020). "Streatham attack: Bill stopping early release of jailed terrorists passes unopposed in Commons". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  24. ^ "Emergency law blocks automatic early release of 50 convicted terrorists". Metro. 26 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
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