Suspect in London sword attack appears in court on murder charges over teenager’s murder

LONDON (AP) — A man accused of brandishing a sword in a London shooting that left a teenager dead, two police officers seriously injured and two men injured appeared in court Thursday and was charged with murder and attempted murder .

Marcus Arduini Monzo, 36, who has both Spanish and Brazilian citizenship, is charged with the murder of 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin, who was killed on his way to school in a north-east London suburb on Tuesday morning.

Prosecutor David Burns said Monzo crashed his van in Hainaut before 7am on Tuesday, hitting a man. He then got out of the van and told the man he would kill him before cutting his neck.

He then broke into a nearby house where a couple was sleeping with their four-year-old daughter. He shouted that he believed in God and attacked the girl’s father, injuring his neck and arm.

Monzo then ambushed Anjorin, slitting his neck and stabbing him in the chest as he lay on the ground.

When police officers arrived and tried to help the boy, Monzo jumped out of the bushes and fled, Burns said. Officers gave chase and Monzo pounced on a female police officer, who suffered “horrendously serious injuries”, Police Commissioner Mark Rowley told LBC Radio.

Rowley admitted the officer almost lost a hand and said surgeons spent hours “basically putting her arm back together.”

The officer’s partner also suffered serious arm and hand injuries in the altercation.

Troop reinforcements later cornered Monzo and used a stun gun to subdue him and take him into custody.

Police said the incident was not classified as terrorist and that there did not appear to be any targeted action against him.

Monzo, who was wearing a gray tracksuit and holding his left arm across his chest because he was injured in the collision with the van, pleaded no contest at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and was taken into custody. A further hearing was scheduled for Tuesday at the Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey.

He is charged with attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault, as well as one count of aggravated burglary and possession of an object with a blade.

The court appearance came as London voters went to the polls to elect their mayor and councilors after a campaign in which crime and trust in the capital’s police were key issues.

Rowley, who heads the Metropolitan Police Service, applauded his officers for running towards danger. He said they arrived 12 minutes after receiving the first call and the suspect was arrested 10 minutes later.