LONDON – A man accused of brandishing a sword in a London riot that killed a teenager, seriously injured two police officers and injured two men appeared in court on Thursday to face charges of murder and attempted murder.
Marcus Arduini Monzo, 36, who has dual Spanish and Brazilian citizenship, is charged with murder in the death of Daniel Anjorin, 14, who was killed while walking to school on Tuesday morning in a northeast London suburb.
Prosecutor David Burns said Monzo crashed his van in Hainault before 7 a.m. Tuesday, hitting a man. He then got out of the van and told the man he would kill him before slitting his neck.
He then broke into a nearby house where a couple was sleeping with their 4-year-old daughter. He shouted about believing in God and attacked the girl’s father, injuring his neck and arm.
Monzo then ambushed Anjorin, slashing his neck and stabbing him in the chest as he lay on the ground.
When officers arrived and tried to help the boy, Monzo jumped from the bushes and ran away, Burns said. Officers gave chase and Monzo attacked a female officer, who received “terribly serious injuries”, Police Commissioner Mark Rowley told LBC radio.
Rowley acknowledged that the officer almost lost his hand and said surgeons spent hours “basically putting the arm back together.”
The officer’s companion also suffered serious injuries to his arms and hands in the confrontation.
Force reinforcements later cornered Monzo and used a stun gun to subdue him and take him into custody.
Police said the incident was not treated as terrorism-related and did not appear to be targeted.
Monzo, wearing a gray hoodie and holding his left arm across his chest due to his injury in the van crash, did not enter a plea at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and was remanded in custody. Another hearing was scheduled for Tuesday at the Central Criminal Court known as the Old Bailey.
He is charged with two counts of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm, as well as single counts of aggravated robbery and possession of a bladed article.
The court hearing came as London voters go to the polls to elect their mayor and local council members, following a campaign in which crime and trust in the capital’s police force were major issues.
Rowley, who leads the Metropolitan Police Service, applauded his officers for running into danger. He said they arrived 12 minutes after receiving the first call and the suspect was detained 10 minutes later.
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