Security guard who disarmed Leicester Square knifeman says the girl is like a younger sister
Abdullah Tanoli’s action thwarted an attack on an 11-year-old in central London; the assailant was later detained indefinitely in a mental hospital under a hospital order and a restriction order.
A security guard who disarmed a knifeman during an attack in Leicester Square last August saved an 11-year-old girl and says she is like a younger sister to him. Abdullah Tanoli, 30, was working as a guard at a shop on the busy central London plaza when, at about 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 12, he heard screams and ran into the street to find a lone attacker holding the girl in a headlock as he stabbed her repeatedly with a large kitchen knife. The Romanian national Ioan Pintaru, 33, had struck the girl in the face, neck and chest, leaving her with multiple wounds. Tanoli charged the attacker, grabbed the hand holding the knife, twisted it, and caused the weapon to drop. He and two other men then pinned Pintaru down until police arrived five minutes later. A nurse walking by also tended to the victim’s wounds.
The girl, who was on holiday with her mother, later told investigators that she believed she was going to die as Pintaru wrapped his arm around her and pulled her head into a hold while stabbing her with force described by prosecutors as relentless. During the Old Bailey case, Prosecutor Heidi Stonecliffe KC said the stab had pierced near an artery and windpipe, with injuries described as eight separate wounds across the face, neck and chest. The victim’s mother, who described Pintaru’s expression during the attack as crazed and vacant, said she believed he intended to kill her daughter.
Tanoli’s actions were acknowledged in court when the defendant was sentenced to a hospital order under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act and a restriction order under Section 41, meaning Pintaru can be detained indefinitely. Police said the incident left the city shaken, but stressed that the immediate aftermath showcased acts of bravery by members of the public and professionals who rushed to help.
During a police interview, the girl described the moment she felt something crash into her from behind and heard a heavy impact to her head before the stabbing began. The Old Bailey heard that she felt the defendant’s arm wrap around her and that she thought she would die as the attack continued with the assailant’s movements described as a “jackhammer” of force. The court noted that Pintaru had previously been admitted to psychiatric hospital in Romania and had stopped taking his medication, a factor the judges weighed as part of the sentencing.
In a separate statement, Detective Constable Laura Nicoll of the Metropolitan Police’s specialist crime team said the attack was savage and brutal and that it left the city in shock. She commended Tanoli for running toward danger without regard for his own safety and noted that, alongside an off-duty nurse who tended to the girl’s wounds, the guard’s actions likely saved the youngster’s life. The court also heard that Tanoli has remained in contact with the girl’s mother since the attack and that the relationship between him and the child’s family has grown into a perception of kinship, with Tanoli referring to the girl as a younger sister. The girl, now 13, continues to cope with the “invisible scars” of the incident and frequently relives the moment in her memories, according to testimony presented at trial.
The case underscored the duality of a city’s vulnerability and its capacity for swift, life-saving intervention. In their closing remarks, prosecutors and police highlighted the importance of immediate, collective action by bystanders and security staff in public spaces, while acknowledging the lasting psychological impact on the young victim and her mother. The court’s ruling reflects a recognition of Pintaru’s mental health condition and the community’s reliance on protective measures for vulnerable individuals in crowded urban centers.