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Updated: 14-year-old British-Nigerian Boy Killed By Sword-wielding Man In London

Published

2 years ago

May 1, 2024

A teenage boy who was killed during a sword rampage in Hainault, east London has been named as Daniel Anjorin.

The 14-year-old boy died in hospital after the Tuesday, April 30, 2024 attack, in which four other people, including two police officers, were injured.

The victim’s mother was a teacher at Holy Family Catholic School in Waltham Forest.

The suspect is now in police custody, the Met has said.

The 36-year-old man, pictured with a beard and wearing a yellow hooded jumper, was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Immediately after his arrest he was taken to hospital due to the injuries from when he crashed his van into a fence.

The force said they had “so far” found no previous police contact with the suspect.

The Metropolitan Police on Wednesday, released the first image of Daniel, a student at Bancroft’s School in Woodford Green.

It shows him wearing a school uniform with a striped blue tie, and travelling on public transport. student at Bancroft’s School in Woodford Green

His family are being supported by specialist officers as detectives continue their investigation at pace.

Detective Chief Inspector Larry Smith, leading the investigation into the attack, said: “This is an incredibly tragic incident that has resulted in a young boy losing his life and his family devastated. On behalf of the family, I would ask that their privacy is respected.”

The headteacher of the school attended by Daniel Anjorin has said in a message to parents the boy was a “much-loved” pupil.

Simon Marshall, who took over Bancroft’s School in 2016, told parents it is “scarcely believable” that the school is facing “fresh sorrow”, less than a year after the former pupil Grace O’Malley-Kumar was killed in the Nottingham attacks.

In a note seen by the BBC, he said: “I had been intending to write to you once the news has become public, but I understand that many within our community may already be aware of events yesterday.

“It is therefore with great sadness and shock that I am writing to inform you of the tragic death of Daniel Anjorin, one of our pupils. Our thoughts and prayers at this moment are with Daniel’s family and friends.”

It added that “it seems scarcely believable that less than a year on from the terrible death of Grace O’Malley-Kumar in the Nottingham attacks we are facing fresh sorrow”

A woman tried to warn Daniel Anjorin about the man wielding a sword before he was fatally stabbed but he did not hear because he had headphones on.

Aiste Dabasinskaaite told ITV she was confronted by the man but managed to run away despite him putting his foot on hers so she couldn’t back off.

She said the man asked her for the address of the area they were in.

“Once I told the address, he sort of moved closer towards me, he put his foot on my foot so I couldn’t back off and then that’s when he like drew out the sword. It was arm’s length. It was honestly petrifying. I just ran down the road, I didn’t even look back to see if he was chasing me,” he said.

She then tried to warn Daniel: “My instinct was to shout and wave at him, which is what me and another neighbour did but because he had just his headphones on I don’t think he heard either of us

“It was sort of a moment where we just went from shouting to just blankness, just felt empty. You wouldn’t think that would happen on your doorstep.”

A friend said Daniel was a “very good person” who loved maths and Arsenal FC.

Cyan Thompson, 19, told the Independent that people “couldn’t help but smile” whenever Daniel walked into the room.

“He was a very good person on his way to school and then some random person did that. For what purpose? My friend was supposed to go with him to school but forgot something at home and had to go back. He expected to see him in class. His mum won’t let him out of the house now.”

He added: “I’m way older but Daniel was better than me at maths. I was planning on playing football with him later today. But that’s not going to happen.

“He was like a prime Messi, he could get past me very easily. He was small but very jinky. He was a very determined guy. I support Man City, he supports Arsenal, it was a good rivalry. You couldn’t help but smile when he walked into the room.”

In a statement, the Met Police said the suspect struck a 33-year-old m when he crashed his van into a property on Laing Close around 07:00 BST on Tuesday. He then attacked the man, leaving him with a wound to the neck.

Another man, 35, suffered lacerations to his arm when he was attacked inside a nearby house.

Their conditions are not considered to be life-threatening, police said.

The suspect then went on to attack Daniel.

The Met said police arrived within 12 minutes of the first call where officers used incapacitant spray and a Taser on the suspect, which had “limited impact”.

Two officers were then attacked as well, suffering serious injuries and needing long-term treatment to recover, the force said.

The suspect fled before eventually being surrounded by other officers in Thurlow Gardens where he was overpowered with a Taser.

He was arrested and taken to hospital due to injuries from the crash. He is now in police custody.

Headline

Russia Insists Ukraine Must Cede Land Or Face Continued Military Push

Published

1 day ago

November 27, 2025

Editor

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he would end his Ukraine offensive if Kyiv withdrew from territory Moscow claims at its own — otherwise his army would take it by force.

The Russian army has been slowly but steadily grinding through eastern Ukraine in costly battles against outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces.

Washington has meanwhile renewed its push to end the nearly four-year war, putting forward a surprise plan that it hopes to finalise through upcoming talks with Moscow and Kyiv.

“If Ukrainian forces leave the territories they hold, then we will stop combat operations,” Putin said during a visit to Kyrgyzstan. “If they don’t, then we will achieve it by military means.”

Russia controls around one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory. The issue of occupied land, which Kyiv has said it will never cede, is among the biggest stumbling blocks in the peace process.

Another important issue in the talks are Western security guarantees for Ukraine, which Kyiv says are needed to prevent Moscow from invading again in the future.

Washington’s original plan — drafted without input from Ukraine’s European allies — would have seen Kyiv withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region and the United States de facto recognise the Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk regions as Russian.

The US pared back the original plan over the weekend following criticism from Kyiv and Europe, but has not yet released the new version.

Putin, who has seen the new plan, said it could be a negotiation starter.

“Overall, we agree that it could form the basis for future agreements,” he said of the latest draft, which the US is thought to have shortened to about 20 points.

US negotiator Steve Witkoff was expected in Moscow next week to discuss the revised document, Putin said.

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is meanwhile due to visit Kyiv later this week, Ukraine’s top presidential aide Andriy Yermak said.

– ‘Little can be done’ –

In his remarks Thursday, Putin repeated the claim that Russia had encircled the Ukrainian army in Pokrovsk and Myrnograd in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region — the most fiercely embattled area and a key target for Moscow’s forces.

“Krasnoarmeysk and Dimitrov are completely surrounded,” he said, using the Russian names for the cities.

Moscow was also advancing in Vovchansk and Siversk, as well as approaching the important logistic hub of Guliaipole, he added.

The Russian offensive “is practically impossible to hold back, so there is little that can be done about it”, Putin said.

Ukraine has denied Pokrovsk and Myrnograd are encircled, insisting its forces continue to hold the enemy along the front line.

Putin also questioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s legitimacy and said signing any agreement with him would be legally “almost impossible” at the moment, a suggestion that has drawn groans from Kyiv and its allies.

According to data analysed by AFP from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian forces have conquered an average of 467 square kilometres (180 square miles) each month in 2025 — a step up from 2024.

Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the worst armed conflict in Europe since World War II.

The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced millions to flee their homes.

Headline

Morocco Jails French Rapper Maes For Kidnapping Bid

Published

2 days ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

A Moroccan court has sentenced French rapper Maes to seven years in prison on charges including the formation of a criminal gang and attempted kidnapping, local reports said Wednesday.

Maes, who has roots in Morocco and whose real name is Walid Georgey, was arrested upon landing in Morocco in January after fleeing the United Arab Emirates, where he feared he could be extradited to France, the reports said.

French authorities had issued an international arrest warrant for him over a separate criminal case.

He appeared in court late Tuesday and was found guilty of “forming a criminal organisation, attempted abduction and unlawful confinement” of a rival in Morocco, news website TelQuel reported.

The rapper with over a billion views on his YouTube channel was accused of tasking a gang and hitmen with killing the rival, but the plot was foiled, TelQuel added.

Maes has denied all charges, with his lawyers calling the case “empty” and “arguing that no evidence linked him to the other defendants”, TelQuel added.

Ten other people were sentenced as part of the case, with terms ranging from one to 10 years, according to news website Media24.

AFP was unable to independently verify the reports as prosecutors were not immediately reachable for comment.

In 2020, when Maes was one of France’s most-streamed rappers, he fell victim to extortion attempts in his native Sevran, a suburb north of Paris, according to reports.

He retaliated by opening fire with weapons he had at home, leading to a shootout. He then fled to Dubai with his family, according to an interview with French YouTube channel LEGEND.

Following the killing of his manager in 2022, he was suspected of ordering reprisals against those he believed were behind the murder, according to reports.

AFP

Headline

UK Court Clears Comedy Writer Of Harassing Transgender Woman

Published

2 days ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

A London court on Tuesday cleared Emmy award-winning comedy writer Graham Linehan of harassing a transgender activist online but found him guilty of criminal damage to their mobile phone.

Linehan, who co-created the popular 1990s sitcom “Father Ted” but has more recently become well-known for his gender critical views, had been accused of sending Sophia Brooks “abusive and vindictive” messages on social media.

He was also charged with criminal damage after deliberately knocking a phone out of Brooks’s hand as they filmed him on the sidelines of a London conference.

Ruling on the case, District Judge Briony Clarke said she was not convinced Linehan’s conduct “was oppressive and unacceptable beyond merely unattractive, annoying or irritating”.

Clarke also concluded Brooks was not “as alarmed and distressed as they portrayed themself to be”.

But convicting Linehan of criminal damage, the judge ruled he was “angry and fed up” and did not use “reasonable force” when the phone was taken from Brooks.

Clarke fined him £500 ($655) and ordered him to pay costs of £650 and a statutory surcharge of £200.

The Irish writer, who also co-created the popular sitcoms “Black Books” and “The IT Crowd”, became embroiled in a free speech row in Britain earlier this year over his anti-transgender stance.

It followed his arrest at London’s Heathrow Airport by armed police over accusations of inciting violence with his X posts insulting transgender people.

The arrest sparked a backlash and claims of state overreach, including from US tech billionaire Elon Musk. But in October, UK prosecutors said they would take “no further action” in that case.

AFP