A man was stabbed at the entrance to the British Museum in London on Tuesday and his attacker arrested, police said, who ruled out the terrorist track.
The museum, whose collections include the Rosetta stone or the Parthenon marbles and is one of the most visited attractions in the British capital, was evacuated.
In a statement, the British Museum said it had closed “following the assault of a member of the public nearby”. “Museum security guards provided assistance before help arrived,” the museum added. According to the emergency services, the man was injured in the arm.
In a press release, the police indicated that they intervened around 10 a.m. local time (0900 GMT) for an “isolated incident”, “not considered to be of a terrorist nature”: “a man with stab wounds was taken to hospital “.
Another “was arrested for assault and battery” following this incident which occurred “at the intersection of Russell Street and Museum Street”, where the main entrance to the museum is located, said Scotland Yard.
The UK has been hit by several stabbing attacks carried out by jihadists in recent years. Knife crime is common in the United Kingdom where the possession of firearms is very strictly controlled.
