A peace vigil has been held in Streatham, south London, one week after a terror attack that left three people injured.
Convicted terrorist Sudesh Amman, 20, was shot dead by police in Streatham High Road last Sunday, moments after he stole a knife and stabbed two passersby. He had been automatically released from prison for charges of disseminating terrorist material days before.
On Saturday, the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, and Streatham MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy joined community members and faith leaders in a show of unity outside the Odeon cinema – a stone’s throw from where the incident took place.
“I joined locals and community leaders in Streatham today as the community continues to recover after last weekend’s shocking attack,” Khan tweeted.
“The resilience of Londoners never fails to inspire me and as the people of Streatham have shown, cowardly attempts to divide us will never succeed.”
Local choirs gathered at St Leonard’s church before marching down the high street to “reclaim” it through song. Attendees waved flags and wrote messages of solidarity in chalk on the pavement.
“Roses are red, violets are blue, SW16 will always pull through,” one message read, accompanied by a drawing of a heart pierced by an arrow.
The unity and love at today's #StreathamStandsTogether event showed the true spirit of our city.
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) February 8, 2020
Londoners will:
❤ never bow down to fear
❤ never be broken by terrorism
❤ never see our diversity as a weakness, but one of our greatest strengths.#StreathamIsOpen ❤ pic.twitter.com/f8PhCLsWIb
Metropolitan police officers are due to return to the scene of the attack on Sunday in an appeal for information.
Officers said that they have identified more than 100 witnesses, have collected more than 250 evidence exhibits and are reviewing hours of CCTV footage.
They added that searches at a property in Bishop’s Stortford and a Streatham bail hostel, where Amman is believed have stayed in the days before the attack, are now complete.
Richard Smith, the head of the Met’s counter-terrorism command, said he remains confident that last week’s attack was an “isolated incident”.
But he added: “We continue to carry out extensive inquiries and our focus remains on ensuring there is no wider threat connected with this incident.”
A man in his 40s, who was stabbed and seriously injured in the attack, remains in a critical condition in hospital.
The second of Amman’s victims, nursery school teacher Monika Luftner, was discharged from hospital earlier this week along with another woman who was injured by flying glass caused by police gunfire.
The Streatham attack was the second case in just over two months of a freed prisoner committing further terror offences.
The government is expected to table emergency legislation concerning the release of terror offenders on Tuesday.
The legislation will seek to ban convicted terrorists from being automatically released half way through their prison terms and is expected to face a legal challenge.
