A British Army soldier is in hospital with serious injuries after being stabbed in Kent. The soldier was in uniform when he was attacked near his home on Tuesday. The Home Office said it was not treating the stabbing as terror-related but the result of a mental health episode.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer wrote on X: “I am shocked and appalled by the news. The soldier, who is in his 40s, was attacked just before 18:00 BST in Sally Port Gardens, Gillingham.
A 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder about 25 minutes later. Mr Starmer added: “All our thoughts are with the soldier, his family and our Armed Forces community, who serve to keep all of us safe. The stabbing happened near Brompton Barracks, the headquarters of the British Army’s 1 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment. The soldier was taken to hospital, with Kent Police saying he was in a serious condition.
One woman living near the scene said she was sitting down to dinner with her family when they heard a “huge scream”. As they got to the window, she said they saw the attacker inflicting a final stab wound on a person who was on the ground, before fleeing on a moped. It’s very, very scary,” she said.
The head of the Army, Gen Sir Roly Walker, said he was saddened by the horrific and unprovoked attack.
He confirmed the victim was an officer in the Army. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on X the stabbing was “shocking and appalling
Source: BBC
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