Man appears in court charged with attempted murder of Army officer in uniform

A man has been remanded in custody after appearing in court charged with the attempted murder of an Army officer in uniform near a barracks.

Anthony Esan, 24, is accused of repeatedly stabbing Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teeton in Gillingham , Kent , on Tuesday.

The serviceman, in his 40s, is in hospital in a serious but stable condition after the alleged knife attack.

Esan, who was arrested near his home in nearby Rochester, is also charged with possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.

He appeared at Medway Magistrates’ Court on Thursday wearing a grey T-shirt and will next appear at Maidstone Crown Court on August 22.

The defendant initially asked “Why?” when he was asked to confirm his name and date of birth.

Prosecutor Rajni Prashar said: “A member of the public called 999 to report a male had been stabbed.

“It was then reported that the victim was a soldier in uniform.”

She told the court a man was seen “running up behind” the Army officer before he “pulled the soldier to the ground”, stabbed him “repeatedly” and drove away on a moped.

Two knives were dropped at the scene and a further three were found stored on the bike, the prosecutor said.

Head of the Army General Sir Roly Walker condemned the stabbing as “horrific and unprovoked”, while Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “shocked and appalled”.

Sally Port Gardens, where police said the incident took place, is near Brompton Barracks, the headquarters of the British Army’s 1 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment.

The attack happened at around 5.55pm on Tuesday, with the suspect being arrested around 25 minutes later.

Lt Col Teeton is a chartered engineer working as a course manager in the Army’s Corps of Royal Engineers, according to a LinkedIn page, which shows he has worked in various roles in the armed forces dating back to 2001.

In June this year, he raised nearly £2,500 for Combat Stress, a veterans mental health charity, by running the D-Day challenge in Normandy, a fundraising page shows.