Leicester Square stabbing victim ‘won’t let attack ruin my memories’

The Australian schoolgirl who was stabbed in Leicester Square has told of her determination not to let the terrifying knife attack ruin her holiday, which included seeing the singer Taylor Swift.
The 11-year-old from the small town of Candelo, about 280 miles south of Sydney, was visiting the popular tourist site in London with her mother when a lone attacker stabbed her in the face and neck last week.
The girl, who cannot be named in the UK, has told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper that she was determined not to allow the attack, which left her needing stitches in her face and neck, ruin her first trip to London.
A day later the schoolgirl was allowed out of hospital to see Swift perform in her Eras tour at Wembley and danced and sang in spite of her injuries.
The two Metropolitan Police officers who had rushed her to safety a day earlier helped escort her to Wembley for the concert. She told the newspaper they were her “favourite” police officers.
“I had to get to the Taylor Swift concert,” she said. “It was amazing. Some people organised for us to go into a VIP box and there was food being served and a private toilet, which was very exciting.”
Her mother, who tried to shield the girl from the attacker outside the TWG Tea store in the square said the stabbing was “scary” but that she was proud of her daughter’s resilience. “Nothing will stop her. I was expecting her to crumble when she got home, but that didn’t happen,” she said. The pair had been in Europe for the Paris Olympics before visiting London.
The mother, 34, said that she was still in contact with the security guard who helped members of the public wrestle the alleged knifeman to the ground. She said she was still texting the guard, Abdullah, 29, and thanking him for saving her daughter’s life.
He has previously told how he rushed to the pair’s aid when he heard a scream. “I jumped on him, held the hand in which he was carrying a knife, and just put him down on the floor, held him and took the knife away from him,” the guard said.
“Then a couple more people joined as well, and we just held him until the police came. It took maybe three to four minutes for the police to arrive and then they just took him into custody.”
Ioan Pintaru, a 32-year-old Romanian national, has been charged with attempted murder and possession of a bladed article. Pintaru, who has no fixed address, was remanded in custody when he appeared at Westminster magistrates’ court on August 14. He will next appear at the Old Bailey on September 10.
The mother and daughter are recovering from the ordeal in their home town. The girl said she was planning to perform in her school play, despite her injuries.
She told the newspaper: “I’ve met so many lovely people [in London], especially in the hospital and the police who have been looking after me. They’ve just been so lovely.”