Leytonstone Tube attack: Man guilty of trying to behead random stranger

Video report by ITV News reporter Richard Pallot

An mentally-ill man inspired by so-called Islamic State and the murder of Lee Rigby has been convicted of trying to behead a stranger at Leytonstone Tube station.

Ex-Uber driver Muhiddin Mire, 30, shouted “This is for Syria” as he tried to behead musician Lyle Zimmerman at the station on December 5 last year.

Mire also threatened four other commuters during the rampage.

He denied attempted murder but was found guilty following a trial at the Old Bailey.

• The attack

Mire's frenzied attack was caught on CCTV.

He can be seen approaching Mr Zimmerman, 56, from behind before continuously hacking him with a blunt knife.

As Zimmerman lay defenceless on the ground, Mire crouched down and began to "saw" at his neck with the serrated blade.

Mobile phone footage showed witnesses confronting Mire, urging him to stop and put down the knife.

He continued to threaten other passengers, swinging his weapon at Daniel Bielinski, who filmed the incident on his mobile phone.

He also tried to slash Serena Valori, another unknown man and lift engineer David Pethers before police arrived with tasers.

One onlooker famously shouted "You ain't no Muslim, bruv" after Mire had been tasered and restrained.

As he was led away, Mire said: "This is for Syria, for my Muslim brothers."

• The would-be killer

Images of Fusilier Lee Rigby, who was hacked to death in Woolwich in May 2013, and the Islamic State killer known as Jihadi John were found on Mire's phone.

He also had pictures of hostages having their throats cut and used his phone to search for the “Islamic State” and “Islamic State caliphate scares the West.”

He launched his attack just three days after Parliament approved airstrikes in Syria.

Prosecutors argued that Mire "was motivated by revenge for that was occurring in Syria" but his defence lawyer said mental health was “at the heart" of the case.

Mire, who was born in Somalia and travelled to Britain as a young boy, had a history of mental illness and believed he was being persecuted for his religion and followed by the security services.

• The victim

Mr Zimmerman - who the court heard was "in the wrong place at the wrong time" - was lucky to survive the attack.

He suffered a “deep and ragged wound” to his neck but avoided damage to any major blood vessels.

Matthew Smith, a junior doctor who had just finished his shift, came to Mr Zimmerman’s help.

As he treated him, Mire returned.

“He was behaving quite erratically, moving from side to side, waving the weapon around. He was making grunting noises occasionally,” the doctor said.

“I was really very scared, he said. I was obviously frightened for my own safety. I wanted to run away as many passengers had done but I didn’t want to leave Mr Zimmerman.”

• The hero

Father-of-one David Pethers, 33, a lift engineer from Leytonstone, east London, said he was on his way to a work Christmas party when he was faced with the attack.

He said he swung a few punches at the attacker to try and distract him. He received what he described as a "superficial little scratch" in the confrontation.

Mr Pethers told ITV News: "I saw him on the floor and I thought he was dead, there was that much blood. That's when I turned around to warn the people coming into the station that something was going on."

He added: "I was more concerned with what was going to happen to other people than what was going to happen to myself. I can't tell you what was going through my head, I was just trying to stop him attacking someone else and keep his attention on me."

He said he was in shock after the incident but he has recovered.

• Remanded in psychiatric hospital

Mire - who stared ahead with a blank expression as the jury returned its verdict - was remanded in custody at Broadmoor secure psychiatric hospital.

Before adjourning for sentencing, Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC told jurors he would be highlighting the "public spiritedness" of the people who rushed in to help on the day of the attack.

"It would have been very easy to continue one's journey on, but that did not happen," he said.