MONSTER ON THE LOOSE NO MORE: Romanian Knife Attacker Who Brutalised 11-Year-Old Australian Tourist in London’s Leicester Square to be Locked Up INDEFINITELY
- The 33-year-old Romanian national, Ioan Alexandru-Pintaru, stabbed the young girl in a frenzied attack outside a toy store in August 2024.
- The victim’s mother described the attack as ‘like a jackhammer’ and said Pintaru was ‘wide-eyed and manic like nothing was going to stop him’.
- Pintaru, who has schizophrenia, will be detained at a high-security mental hospital with the UK’s Justice Department deciding when, or if, he is ever released.
- A heroic security guard, who intervened and disarmed Pintaru, has been commended for his bravery, saying ‘we Pakistanis are brave by heart, so I wasn’t scared’.
Ioan Alexandru-Pintaru, the 33-year-old Romanian national who brutally stabbed an 11-year-old Australian tourist in London’s Leicester Square last year, will be locked up indefinitely under the UK’s Mental Health Act.
The young girl, now 13, was left with horrific injuries to her eye, neck, chest, and shoulder after Pintaru’s frenzied attack outside a toy store in August 2024. The assault only stopped when a heroic security guard, Abdullah, intervened and disarmed the attacker.
In a statement read out in court, the victim’s mother described the attack as ‘like a jackhammer’, saying Pintaru was ‘wide-eyed and manic like nothing was going to stop him’. She added that Pintaru’s actions had left her daughter ‘shaken to the core’.
At the Old Bailey, Judge Richard Marks KC sentenced Pintaru, who has schizophrenia, to be detained at a high-security mental hospital. The UK’s Justice Department will now decide when, or if, Pintaru is ever released.
Abdullah, the security guard who intervened and disarmed Pintaru, has been commended for his bravery. In an interview with the ABC, he said: ‘We Pakistanis are brave by heart, so I wasn’t scared.’ He described the attack, saying: ‘I started running towards the guy, I jumped on the guy and held his hand, which was carrying the knife.’
Detective Constable Laura Nicoll, from London’s Metropolitan Police, led the investigation and praised Abdullah’s bravery, saying: ‘It was a savage and brutal attack that left the city in shock… But following the most appalling scene, we also saw the best of London.’
The attack has raised concerns about the safety of tourists in London, with Detective Constable Nicoll adding: ‘We continue to work tirelessly to prevent further violence on our streets.’