Mother of suspect accused of stabbing girl in Leicester Square says she is ‘deeply sorry’ for what happened

Magda Girla said her son Ioan Pintaru had moved to the UK six years ago as a lorry driver

Ioan Pintaru is accused of stabbing the 11-year-old girl eight times in a random attack (Facebook)

The mother of a Romanian suspect accused of placing an 11-year-old girl in a headlock and stabbing her repeatedly in London’s Leicester Square has said she is “deeply sorry” for what happened to the young victim.

Ioan Pintaru, 32, allegedly launched the random assault outside the LEGO store, attacking the young Australian tourist with a steak knife while her mother screamed for help.

Speaking to the MailOnline from Pintaru’s hometown of Pucioasa, around 65 miles from Bucharest, Magda Girla said: “Please send this message to everybody, I’m deeply sorry for what happened to that little girl.

“I suffer together with her mother and I can’t describe the pain I’m in. I’m also a mother and I understand what she must be going through.”

Police officers at the scene in Leicester Square (James Manning/PA) (PA Wire)

She added that her son, who she last spoke to on Monday morning before the attack, had worked as a long-distance lorry driver and had moved to England around six years ago.

After being injured in a road traffic incident, he had been forced to search for a new employer, with the court hearing that he had been homeless at the time of the incident.

During his appearance at Westminster Magistrates Court this week, prosecutor David Burns said the 34-year-old woman and daughter were in Leicester Square as tourists when a man “approached the girl, placed her into a headlock, he’s then stabbed her eight times to the body”.

She was wounded in the face, shoulder, wrist and neck area and has required plastic surgery.

The girl’s mother was initially thought to have also been hurt but blood from her daughter’s injuries had been mistaken for injuries of her own, the Metropolitan Police said.

Security guard Abdullah, 29, intervened and stopped the attack (Eleanor Cunningham/PA) (PA Wire)

Officers said there was no suggestion the incident was terror-related or that the victims and suspect knew one another.

A security guard named Abdullah has since been praised for his bravery after he “jumped on” the suspect and disarmed him, restraining him in place until the emergency services arrived.

Detective Chief Superintendent Christina Jessah said: “This is a horrific incident and our thoughts are with the victims and their family. We will continue to provide support to them over the coming days and weeks.

“I would like to pay tribute to the members of the public, including staff from local businesses, who bravely intervened in this incident. They put themselves at risk and showed the best of London in doing so.”

Pintaru was remanded in custody and will next appear at the Old Bailey on September 10.