Two Australians injured in London attack

The 19-year-old suspect arrested after a fatal knife attack in central London does not appear to have been motivated by terrorism, police said following initial investigations on Thursday.

One of whom is an American man who suffered a stab wound to his chest.

Witnesses, many staying at nearby hotels, reported hearing screaming, and said they observed a woman being given CPR while police arrested a suspect.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said the suspect, whose name hasn’t been released, is a Norwegian of Somali ancestry – though police don’t consider that “relevant to the motivation for his actions”.

He is said to be suffering possible “mental health issues”. Earlier media reports had suggested one of the wounded was a Spanish national but Rowley made no mention of any Spanish victims.

She was visiting London with husband Richard Wagner, who was teaching summer classes, and the couple had planned to return to their home in Tallahassee on Thursday.

Police initially considered the stabbings a potential terrorist attack.

The five other victims, two women and three men, are Australian, American, Israeli and British, police said.

The victim, a woman in her 60s, was treated at the scene but was pronounced dead later, the BBC said.

The attack came on the same day that Scotland Yard announced that 600 additional armed officers will be deployed around London’s major sites, including British Museum, as part of anti-terrorism plans in the wake of terror attacks in Europe. Four of the five were well enough to leave the hospital Thursday, officials said, but one of the men remains in stable condition there with lacerations to his stomach.

With other European cities on edge following recent attacks, including those in Paris, Nice and Brussels, London Mayor Sadiq Khan appealed for calm and vigilance.

Police received a call about the attack in progress around 10:30 p.m. local time, and within about 10 minutes had arrived on the scene and subdued the attacker.