A social worker was stabbed while trying to defuse a situation involving young children at a home in Wood Green, Haringey, North London, with two police officers also attacked when they entered the property
Police were still at the scene of the stabbing this morning (
Image: Ben Cawthra/LNP)
A social worker was stabbed and two police officers were attacked in a knife incident in London.
The social worker was allegedly attacked while he was carrying out a child welfare check in Wood Green, Haringey, North London.
The 61-year-old was knifed at around 8pm last night, with police rushing to the scene after receiving an emergency call.
Two officers were also hurt as they forced their way into the property, MyLondon reports.
The injured social worker remains in hospital, but his injuries have been assessed as non-life threatening.
The two police officers, one of whom suffered slash injuries, were also taken to hospital, although their injuries are not thought to be life threatening.
A 33-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of GBH
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They have since been discharged.
A 33-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of assault (GBH). He remains in custody.
Two other men were also arrested at a nearby property in connection with the incident. The nature of their involvement is still being established.
A crime scene remains in place on Noel Park Road.
In the wake of the incident, Haringey Council and the Metropolitan Police have condemned the attack and paid tribute to the social worker.
Police said the incident shows the threat of knives in Haringey
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Chief Superintendent Treena Fleming, policing commander for Haringey and Enfield, said: “Social workers play a vital role in ensuring that vulnerable people in our community, including children, are safe and protected.
“We have a very close working relationship with our local authority partners and their social services teams and I am appalled at this shocking attack.
“We will do all we can to ensure the person responsible is brought to justice. Our thoughts here at North Area are with the injured social worker and his family and we wish him a speedy recovery.
“I would also like to pay tribute to the two officers who came to the aid of the victim in this incident, sustaining knife wounds themselves as they did so.
“I’m pleased that they have been able to leave hospital and we will make sure they have our full support as they recover from what would have been a traumatic experience.
Haringey Council said it will support the social worker as he recovers
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“This incident shows just how much of a threat knives pose to everyone in Haringey and across London.
“Tackling violent crime is the Met’s number one priority and the events of Friday evening only serve to strengthen our determination as we continue to take weapons off the streets and bring offenders to justice.”
The Leader of Haringey Council, Cllr Peray Ahmet, and the local authority’s Chief Executive, Zina Etheridge, said in a joint statement: “This is a shocking incident.
“Our first thoughts are with the social worker, the two police officers, their families and friends. We are so relieved to hear that everyone is expected to make a full recovery.
“Social workers do an incredibly important job. Their safety is of uppermost importance to us.
“This type of incident, while rare, is an important reminder that frontline staff across the public sector put themselves in harm’s way to do their jobs and we should all express our thanks and support for them as they do so.
“We also want to express our admiration and respect for the two police officers, who we understand sustained their injuries while protecting the social worker.
“Haringey Council will provide all the necessary support to him as he recovers from this traumatic incident and to our wider teams, who will of course be concerned by what has happened.”
Anyone with information about this incident should call 101, providing the reference 2347/05AUG.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/social-worker-61-stabbed-attacker-24710388
