Enfield stabbing: Man arrested after woman and three girls attacked with knife in north London

Eleven-year-old girl fighting for her life in hospital following violence on residential street

Police at a house on Livingstone Road in Enfield where stabbings took place (PA)

A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a woman and three children were stabbed at a property in north London on Saturday.

Police were called shortly after noon to Livingstone Road, a residential street in the Bounds Green area in the borough of Enfield, where a woman and three girls were found suffering from stab injuries and were taken to hospital.

The condition of the woman, in her 30s, and two of her girls, both aged under 12, is now stable and non life-threatening after they were treated for serious stab wounds. But one of the girls, 11, remains in a critical condition.

The Metropolitan Police said investigating officers were not searching for anyone else in connection with the stabbings following the arrest of one man this afternoon.

A spokeswoman for the force said: “Officers are not looking for anyone else in relation to this incident. The attacker was known to the victims. There is no further risk to the public at this time.”

One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: “I heard screaming and then I saw a woman lying down on the ground where the (police) tent is.

“She looked in really bad shape. Then I saw a 10-year-old girl on the floor. She was in very bad shape too. I’m not sure about the others. It’s awful.”

The 51-year-old man said he was listening to the radio when he heard a woman screaming.

“I turned the radio off, then heard the screams separating, like three or four times within a few seconds, like “ahh... ahh... ahh” as though something was happening to her.

The neighbour said he then saw a young boy running from the house “in a panic”.

Police cordon at Livingstone Road in Bounds Green area (@myldn / Twitter ) (@myldn / Twitter)

He went on: “Then when I looked outside the window, I saw a black man wearing a red baseball cap, wearing a high vis jacket. He was standing at the top of the road. Then a couple of my neighbours were very animated, gesticulating at him and shouting at him.

“The police were there very quickly. They shouted at the guy, “Don’t move, don’t move, stay here”. Then one of the police officers grabbed hold of him.

“The neighbours were talking considerably to the police. They were looking at the ground around him. I don’t know if there was a weapon, or what. I knew it was a stabbing. The police looked shocked.”

He added: “I’ve lived here for 20 years and nothing like this has happened before. But I was born in London and I know what it has become.”

The neighbour said the woman was from elsewhere in Europe and moved into the address about a year ago. “I hope the woman and her family are okay. They are lovely people. I’ve gotten to know them very well over the past year.”

A young woman, who chose not to be named, was visibly shaken by the incident. She lives across the road from the victims and said: “I didn’t see the mum, but I saw and treated the children. We took a saucepan and water [from our house] to try and treat the wounds. I'm really shaken.”

Detective Sergeant Joe Stewart said: “This was an appalling attack on a woman and her young children. They have sustained very serious injuries. Our thoughts are with them as they continue to receive vital treatment in hospital.”

The suspect remains in a north London police station for questioning.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting CAD3735/06July or Crimestoppers anonymously via 0800 555 111.

Additional reporting by PA