Russell Square killer allowed into UK by European freedom of movement rules stabbed US tourist to death and wounded five others

Schizophrenic Zakaria Bulhan (left, as a boy and, right, in a court sketch) has admitted killing an American tourist during a knife rampage in London's Russell Square

A mentally-ill teenager who stabbed an American tourist to death and injured five others in a knife rampage in London's Russell Square was allowed into the UK by European freedom of movement rules, a court heard.  

Norwegian national Zakaria Bulhan, 19, killed retired teacher Darlene Horton, 64, just hours before she was due to fly home to Tallahassee, Florida, after visiting the UK with her university professor husband Richard Wagner.

Bulhan's parents emigrated from Somalia to Norway in 1994 and he was born in the Scandinavian country three years later.

The second of three children, he moved to the UK with his mother in 2003 under free movement rules after being granted asylum in Norway. 

Norway is part of the European Economic Area (EEA), whose members share freedom of movement with the 28 countries of the EU.

Bulhan, who was living in south-west London at the time of the attack, denied murdering the mother-of-two, but pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility today.

Prosecutors have accepted that schizophrenic Bulhan was in the midst of a psychotic episode at the time after police ruled out a terrorist motive to the attack.

The court heard he was assessed by his local mental health trust on 20 April, but received no further treatment despite acting increasingly 'oddly' before the attack.

Bulhan struck just after 10.30pm on Wednesday 3 August in Russell Square, an area popular with tourists, after visiting the East London Mosque in Whitechapel.

Bulhan (left, as a boy and, right, in a court sketch today) had been brought to Britain from Norway by his Somali mother. He had been assessed by mental health services in London by received no treatment before he carried out the attack

Darlene Horton, from Florida, was in the UK with her husband, Richard Wagner, a visiting university professor, at the time

The knife rampage through the busy London square caused widespread shock in August with victims from around the world

The court heard he ran from the Mosque and was later seen moving erratically along the pavement at Russell Square, walking alongside the park railings and holding a large kitchen knife.

He 'smiled and skipped' towards his first victim before continuing the rampage with a 'crazed smile', the court heard.

HOW THE KILLER MOVED TO BRITAIN

Bulhan was born in Norway in 1997 after his parents arrived from Somalia. He was granted asylum in the country, and moved to Britain in 2003.

The Scandinavian nation is part of the European Economic Area (EEA), which allows it to be part of the EU single market.

Therefore, Norway must abide by EU rules regarding the free movement of people, goods, services and capital.

Londoner Bernard Hepplewhite, 65, shouted in pain as he was stabbed in the abdomen, having travelled to the West End with a friend to see 'Showboat' on Drury Lane with a friend.

He said his attacker showed no sign of anger and simply skipped straight on towards Australian Lillie Sellentin, 23, who had been to see 'Aladdin' at the Prince Edward theatre and was making her way back to her hotel.

She thought she had been punched when she was struck to the right of her ribcage.

'He showed no emotion as he did so, but carried on moving in the same fashion,' said the prosecutor.

It was only when someone shouted 'he's got a knife' that they realised they had been stabbed before Mr Hepplewhite hailed a passing cab to take them to hospital.

Darlene Horton, 64, had eaten dinner with her husband, Richard Wagner, at a restaurant in Bloomsbury before the pair made their way back to where they were staying through Russell Square.

Mr Wagner said a black male rushed past them and as he did so his wife simply said: 'ouch.'

 

Israeli Yovel Lewkowki, 18, was stabbed in the hand by the killer during the horrific incident

In an emotional Facebook post after the attack, Yovel pleaded with her friends to make the most of life, adding: 'The last few hours have taught me to appreciate every second'

Mr Wagner described how Bulhan ran past them in a 'haphazard manner, swerving and loping towards members of the public'.

It was only then he saw the knife and warned others: 'This guy is trying to stab people.'

Killer did not get treatment for mental health problems 

The Russell Square killer did not receive the treatment he needed in the run up to his knife rampage, the court heard. 

He was referred to his local mental health trust in March 2016 and assessed on 20 April, but received no further treatment despite acting increasingly 'oddly' in the period leading up to the attack.

The prosecutor said: 'That is no doubt partly behind what follows.

'He was not then receiving the treatment for his condition to the extent that, as it now appears, was necessary, although not apparent at the time.'

American Martin Hoenisch, 59, was the next to be targeted as Bulhan zig-zagged towards him and stabbed him in the chest.

He was on holiday with his wife and the pair had spent their first evening in London at a restaurant in Covent Garden.

David Imber, 40, who is Australian, had arrived in the UK for a holiday on 1 August and had been to see 'Kinky Boots' at the Adelphi Theatre.

He was also struck to the chest after Bulhan came straight towards him.

The prosecutor said: 'Mr Imber made brief eye contact and describes the male having a 'crazed smile' on his face as if he was enjoying it or that he was under the influence of drugs.'

Israeli Yovel Lewkowski, 18, was in London on a four-day holiday with her family and had spent the evening in the West End before she was knifed in the arm.

'She became considerably distressed, feeling overwhelmed and in a state of shock,' said Mr Heywood.

Bulhan today denied the attempted murder of Mr Hoenisch, Ms Selletin, Mr Imber, Mr Hepplewhite, and Ms Lewkowski.

But he pleaded guilty to alternative charges of wounding with intent after injuring them in the same attack.

Bulhan was carrying a copy of a book called the Fortress of the Muslims - a daily book of Islamic prayers - and was heard muttering 'Allah, Allah,' but a terrorist motive has been ruled out. 

This was the scene in Russell Square shortly after the multiple stabbings in August. Police later ruled out terrorism

'I CAME VERY CLOSE TO SHOOTING RUSSELL SQUARE KILLER', SAYS ROOKIE FIREARMS COP

A Metropolitan Police officer has described the 'butterflies' and 'heart-racing' moment he was called up to deal with Zakaria Bulhan in Russell Square.

A rookie firearms officer came 'very close' to shooting the Russell Square killer amid fears of a repeat of the carnage caused in the 7/7 terror attacks.

The Metropolitan Police officer has described the 'butterflies' and 'heart-racing' moment he was called up on his first serious firearms incident on the evening of August 3 last year.

He had only been in the unit for five weeks when the reports came in of a man stabbing people indiscriminately in the street and injured 'bodies littering the pavement'.

In an interview with the Press Association on condition of anonymity, he said his initial thought was terrorism.

He said: 'You hear Russell Square and you think of the bombings.'

It was also the same day the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe announced the start of Operation Hercules in which more firearms officers were to be deployed in the capital, he said.

The officer had gone with his partner to Bedford Place to cut off Zakaria Bulhan's escape route after he killed American tourist Darlene Horton and stabbed five others.

The pair got out of the police car and chased after Bulhan after he refused to stop and drop his large kitchen knife.

The officer said it was a 'quite surreal' scene as Bulhan pelted away from them with the knife held aloft as if he was about to strike again, only glancing over his shoulder as they screamed at him to stop.

The 19-year-old suspect darted past a colleague who tried to take him down with his baton and was moments away from diving around a corner into unsuspecting members of the public.

As he headed towards the British Museum, the officer said they had to make a 'pre-emptive strike' with a Taser before he could hurt anyone else.

He said: 'He was running at pace with the knife raised and kept looking back at us every time we were screaming to stop.

'He was nearing the corner with Great Russell Street. We knew already there were members of the public there.

'He may have been a danger, with unrestricted access to members of the public if we did not engage with him.

'At that point one of the others managed to withdraw his Taser and used that option. The Taser worked extremely effectively.

'He landed face first onto the floor and dropped the knife. We jumped on him, placed him in handcuffs and detained him.'

Asked how near he came to shooting Bulhan dead, the officer said: 'Very close. He was approaching that corner and we knew if he got around that corner for a very small amount of time he would have had unrestricted access to members of the public.

'It had to be a pre-emptive strike. We could not let him get around the corner.'

As Bulham tried to catch his breath on the ground, he kept saying 'Allah, Allah, Allah' which the officer thought at the time could be confirmation of his worst fears.

Afterwards, he said, he felt 'relief' but it was only later that he learned of Mrs Horton's death.

He said: 'For us at that point, we felt relief that we didn't have to use lethal force.

'You think you have done a good job, however, you have the wind knocked out of your sails when you are updated that one of the casualties has died as a result of the attack he had done.'

On his concerns at the time, he said: 'He is not going to win if he decides to attack. You are very worried about members of the public running away.

'We were worried if he reached that corner out of our sights for a matter of seconds we could have failed in our job.'

He had 'butterflies' when he set out to face the unknown, but once the team got back to their headquarters, they celebrated making the arrest without a shot fired with a cup of tea.

Bulhan was living with his mother, step-father and siblings at the time of attacks.

He left school aged 16 and retook his GCSEs at college before dropping out in April 2016 as his mental state deteriorated.

In March last year, he had been referred for treatment for his mental health and his behaviour became more odd leading up to August, the court heard.

Mr Heywood said the pleas were accepted by the Crown having been considered 'at the very highest level'.

He told the judge: 'At the time of these events it has been clearly established the defendant was suffering from an acute episode of a mental illness that has been diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenia.

'That acute episode was a psychotic one, and floridly so, at the time of these events on 3 August 2016.'

Council workers wash the pavement on Russell Square the day after Bulhan's deadly attack left scenes of chaos

Armed police praised for arrest without firing

DI Tony Lynes, of the Metropolitan Police, said: 'Bulhan's actions caused an enormous amount of fear and distress with initial concerns this incident may be linked to terrorism.

'This was quickly found not to be the case and we now know Bulhan was suffering a severe episode of mental health. He clearly poses an enormous risk to the general public and I hope he can now get the help he needs.

'I would like to commend our armed officers who were called to the incident that night not knowing what they might encounter. They arrived on the scene within six minutes and acted with the utmost professionalism to detain an armed and violent man with the minimum necessary force and without firing a single shot.

'However, our thoughts must remain with Bulhan's victims who were simply enjoying a night out on a summer's evening when they were subjected to this terrifying ordeal. And of course the friends and family of Darlene Horton who so sadly lost her life.' 

Bulhan was assessed by psychiatrists following his arrest on the night of the attack and held in Broadmoor secure hospital where doctors found he was fit to enter pleas.

He told a psychiatrist at Broadmoor he 'felt dreadful' about what he had done.

'I could never have predicted it, it's surreal,' he said. 'I did everything to stop myself becoming ill. I went to the psychiatrist, I went to the Mosque, I did prayers.'

The court heard an assessment on 20 April 2016 carried out by the East Wandsworth mental health trust found Bulhan was not currently psychotic, but had mood and anxiety symptoms that should be treated by his GP.

But his mother said he became more aggressive and she removed the knives from the kitchen following incidents in which he had a knife in the home and took her mobile phone.

He also thought people were putting spells on him when they spat in his direction, said the prosecutor.

Bulhan's father took him to the Mosque in Whitechapel on the day of the attack because he was ill.

But Bulhan ran away and later told a psychiatrist he believed someone blew on him and put spirits inside him.

The Old Bailey heard he also believed people were trying to kill him, the secret service was tracking him and he was possessed by demons.

Appearing in the dock wearing a grey zip-up jacket today, Bulhan spoke only to confirm his name and that he could hear proceedings before entering his pleas.

Forensics officers at the scene. Armed police who tackled Buhlan were today praised for arresting him without opening fire

After the charge of murder was put to him, Bulhan, who was surrounded by health workers, answered: 'Not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter by diminished responsibility.'

He then pleaded not guilty to five counts of attempted murder before pleading guilty to alternative charges of wounding with intent.

Old Bailey judge Mr Justice Spencer said he will sentence the teenager tomorrow. The judge said there were two realistic options available to him of either a life sentence or a hospital order with indefinite restriction.

Victim's husband says failures in identifying mentally ill led to his wife's tragic death during their holiday 

Dr Richard Wagner watched as his wife was killed in Russell Square

The family of Russell Square stabbing victim Darlene Horton have said her killer has lost his right to be in society and if he is released to kill again 'the blood will be on our hands'.

Widower Richard Wagner said it was ironic that his 64-year-old wife, who worked as a special needs teacher, has lost her life to someone who is mentally ill.

Instead of flowers, the family had asked mourners at her funeral to donate to two agencies involved in mental health research and advocacy for sufferers of mental health conditions.

But Mr Wagner said in a statement read in court: 'The defendant is not a typical individual who suffers from mental illness, but someone with mental illness, who is capable of and motivated to kill strangers.

'We have suffered an unspeakable tragedy because of potentially unknowable deficiencies in our system of identifying and treating individuals with mental illness, in his family and life circumstances, and in our knowledge of mental illness.

'As a result, a potential killer was allowed to walk the streets.

'But knowing what we now know, if we ever allow him to repeat his crime and does so, the deficiencies will be our own and the blood will be on our hands.'

He and Ms Horton had been 'high school sweethearts' and Mr Wagner said: 'Losing my wife and best friend under the circumstances has been as bad as you might imagine.

'As bad as I feel for my life, I feel worse for the loss experienced by my two daughters.

'It saddens me their future children will miss out on someone who would have been a wonderful grandmother to them as well.'

Daughter Shannon, 26, said: 'In the past few months, my life has taken a dark turn, a grief process I wasn't prepared for.'

The mental health clinician, added: 'I believe this person has lost all right to be in society any longer and has proven he is incapable of functioning on an out-patient treatment level.

'I believe the severity of his actions calls for actions that ensure the safety of your citizens as well as those who travel to your city as my family has on many occasions.'