A 32-year-old man, Ioan Pintaru, appeared in court on Tuesday, charged with the attempted murder of an 11-year-old girl in London's Leicester Square, described by prosecutors as a 'random attack'. Pintaru was additionally charged with possessing a bladed article after the girl was stabbed eight times on Monday afternoon in the central London tourist hotspot, known for its shops and theatres.
The London Metropolitan Police reported that the girl sustained serious injuries, although they are not life-threatening. Initially, it was thought that the girl's 34-year-old mother was also injured, but police later clarified that the blood from her daughter's wounds had been mistaken for her own injuries.
Pintaru appeared at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court dressed in a grey tracksuit, only confirming his name and date of birth when prompted. Prosecutor David Burns described the incident, stating that the girl and her mother, tourists, were in Leicester Square just before the attack. Burns detailed that Pintaru approached the girl, put her in a headlock, and then stabbed her eight times.
Pintaru was not required to enter any pleas and was remanded in custody, with his next court appearance scheduled at the Old Bailey on September 10.
