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Russell Square knifeman pleads guilty to manslaughter

Wounded victims, including an Israeli girl, recovering well, court hears.

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The man who carried out a stabbing attack in central London last year, killing one person and injuring five more, including an Israeli, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Zakaria Bulhan attacked people with a knife in Russell Square, on August 3 last year. He killed Darlene Horton, a 64 year old American tourist, and injured Lillie Selletin, David Imber, Martin Hoenisch, Bernard Hepplewhite and Yovel Lewkowski.

Ms Lewkowski, from Tel Aviv, was visiting London with her grandfather. She was staying in a hotel nearby and had gone for a walk when the incident happened. She later told Israeli website Ynetnews that:

“I saw a woman lying on the floor, covered in blood. Her husband supported her. Suddenly I discovered that I was bleeding,” she said. 

“I looked and saw that the attacker stabbed me in the hand.

“A man at the scene tried to calm me down, but he was covered in blood and wounded by stabbing. Luckily he survived.”

Bulhan, 19, of Tooting, south-west London, appeared at the Old Bailey on Monday.

Although he had been charged with murder and attempted murder, the court accepted his plea of diminished responsibility.

The court heard how he had been treated for mental health issues in March of last year, which worsened leading up to August 3, and that during the attack he was going through an “acute” episode of paranoid schizophrenia.

Ms Lewkowski and the other injured victims have all made good recoveries, the court heard.

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