Terrified witness tells how he bravely tackled ‘knifeman’ who stabbed mum, 34, and her daughter, 11, on Leicester Square

A SECURITY guard “jumped on” and took a knife from a man who stabbed a mum and her daughter in Leicester Square.

Abdullah, 29, said he heroically tackled and disarmed the knifeman after hearing a “scream” in the bustling tourist hot spot.

PA

PA

It comes as a 32-year-old man, who is not believed to be known to the two victims, was arrested moments after the stabbing in central London.

An 11-year-old girl and her mum, 34, were rushed to a major trauma centre as emergency services descended on the bustling tourist hot spot at around 11.34am.

Abdullah, 29, said he had worked in security at the nearby TWG Tea shop for the past “seven to eight months”.

Recalling the traumatic incident, he added: “I heard a scream, at that moment I saw there was one person, roughly in their mid-30s or early 30s.

“He was like stabbing a kid – I jumped on him, held the hand in which he was carrying a knife.

“I just put him down on the floor and just held him and took the knife away from him.

“Then a couple of more people joined as well, and we just held him until the police came.

“It took maybe three to four minutes for the police to arrive and then they just took him into custody.

“I just saw a kid getting stabbed and I just tried to save her. It’s my duty to just save them.”

Abdullah and his colleagues gave the girl first aid until cops took over, he said.

Police officers remain at the pedestrianised square in the West End – one of the busiest tourist districts in the capital.

Cops have said they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the attack.

Detective Chief Superintendent Christina Jessah, in charge of policing for Westminster, said: “This is a horrific incident and our thoughts are with the victims and their family.

“We will continue to provide support to them over the coming days and weeks.

“I would like to pay tribute to the members of the public, including staff from local businesses, who bravely intervened in this incident.

“They put themselves at risk and showed the best of London in doing so.

“An urgent investigation is now ongoing and detectives are working to establish the details around exactly what happened.

“At this stage we don’t believe the suspect and the victims were known to each other.

“While we continue to work to establish the suspect’s motive, at this stage there is nothing to indicate the attack was terror-related.”

In an update, cops said the girl was “seriously injured” but her condition was not life-threatening.

The adult woman suffered more minor injuries, Westminster Police said.

A man who works opposite the scene, and who did not want to be identified, said he saw the suspect earlier in the day.

He added: “He was standing, doing nothing, eating and talking to himself as I saw.”

He filmed a man being arrested outside the TWG Tea shop and said he recognised him from the morning.

The footage showed police detaining a skinny man wearing a black T-shirt with white text on, and dark trousers.

Another witness told of how the knifeman focused the attack on the girl, putting her in a headlock and stabbing her.

Desmond, 45, who performs as Darth Vader on the square “every day”, told reporters: “When I looked to my side I saw a young man… was stabbing her several (times) with a knife.

“Before I could jump down to go (over there), two guys were just passing, and they grab him, they put him on the ground, and immediately the police came.

“I think the woman was also stabbed once, but the child was the most targeted, he was stabbing the child several times. Police held him and stood him up and cuffed him.”

Rex