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Attacker told my son 'this is for Islam' before stabbing him

My brain won't accept what happened to Daniel

Elizabeth O'Neill

The mother of a 23-year-old man stabbed in Saturday night's terror atrocity has told Good Morning Britain her son was approached by a man who declared 'this is for Islam' before plunging a knife into him, narrowly missing his kidney.

Elizabeth O'Neill said her son had stepped outside a bar near London Bridge when he was approached by the attacker.

Describing the moment her son was stabbed, she said: ''Daniel saw the flash of the blade and he drove the blade into Daniel. Dan moved back to prevent it from going in any further - that's probably what saved his kidney."

''When I was at hospital on Saturday, it was like I was watching the live set of Casualty. My brain won't accept what's happened to Daniel.''

Daniel O'Neill is recovering in hospital after being stabbed in the London terror attack

She said Daniel, who was on an night out with his girlfriend, returned to the bar to alert friends that he'd been stabbed.

''They were all panicking and he was telling them to calm down,'' she said.

As police officers stormed the pub ordering punters to lie on the ground, Elizabeth said one of Daniel's quick-thinking friends ripped off his shirt and improvised a tourniquet to stem the bleeding before he could eventually receive help.

Daniel suffered a seven-inch stab wound extending from his stomach to his back and is being treated at the King's College Hospital.

Elizabeth said that while her son is in 'good spirits' he is still in shock.

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