Teen held after US woman killed in London stabbings.

London : British police were holding a 19-year-old man on suspicion of murder yesterday after a central London stabbing spree that killed a US woman but appeared unrelated to terrorism. The woman is the wife of a Florida State University (FSU) psychology professor, the university said yesterday in a statement. 

Darlene Horton, the wife of Richard Wagner, was killed the day the university’s summer study abroad programme ended. 

While the university has named Wagner as a family member, FSU has yet to explicitly release the victim’s name.

Cities across Europe have been on edge after a string of attacks in recent weeks and the overnight rampage that killed the woman, thought to be in her 60s, and injured five others, had triggered fresh terror fears.

But authorities said there was no sign the Norwegian man of Somali origin was radicalised or had terror motives, with the evidence so far pointing to the attack being sparked by mental health problems.

“We believe this was a spontaneous attack and the victims were selected at random,” senior police officer Mark Rowley told reporters.

“We have found no evidence of radicalisation or anything that would suggest the man in our custody was motivated by terrorism.”

The investigation “increasingly points to this tragic incident as having been triggered by mental health issues”, he added.

Europe on edge

The attack took place late Wednesday in Russell Square, a plush garden square in the city centre close to attractions including the British Museum. Police responded quickly to reports of multiple stabbings and immobilised the suspect with an electric stun gun within six minutes.

However, he had already injured two women and three men. Paramedics battled to save the US woman but pronounced her dead at the scene. 

Among those injured were US, British, Australian and Israeli nationals.

Three of the five have been discharged from hospital and the other two are not in a life-threatening condition.

With other European cities on edge following recent attacks, including those in Paris, Nice and Brussels, London Mayor Sadiq Khan appealed for calm and vigilance.

“We all have a vital role to play as eyes and ears for our police and security services and in helping to ensure London is protected,” he said.