Man charged following Leicester Square stabbing

A man has been charged with attempted murder after an 11-year-old girl was stabbed in Leicester Square.

Ioan Pintaru, 32, was remanded in custody to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday morning.

He has also been charged with possession of a bladed article.

The girl's mother, 34, was initially thought to have been hurt but blood from her daughter's injuries had been mistaken for injuries of her own, the Metropolitan Police said.

Detective chief superintendent Christina Jessah 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.

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: "We were called at 11.36am on Monday August 12 to reports of a stabbing at Leicester Square.

"We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an advanced paramedic and an incident response officer. We also dispatched members of our tactical response unit.

"We treated a child and an adult at the scene and took them to a major trauma centre."

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