Horror in London suburb as woman, 82, is found beheaded 'with a machete' in back garden - after man was spotted attacking cats
- Officers called to the north London address just after 1pm today
- There they found the victim collapsed in a back garden
- Some eyewitnesses said they saw a man killing cats beforehand
- A Taser gun was deployed and a 25-year-old man arrested nearby
- A police officer was injured during the arrest, suffering a broken wrist
- The man was arrested on suspicion of murder and is in custody
- Scotland Yard said there is no suggestion killing had terrorist motive
- Police Complaints Commission informed after arrested man injured
A woman who was found beheaded in a suburban back garden after a man 'went berserk with a machete' has been named by police as Palmira Silva, 82
A woman who was found beheaded in a suburban back garden after a man 'went berserk with a machete' has been named by police as Palmira Silva, 82.
The victim, who is believed to be of Italian descent and also known as Pamela, was found dead outside a house in Edmonton, north London.
Police say the killing is not currently being linked to terrorism and that specialist firearms officers were called to to reports of a man wielding a knife and attacking animals just after 1pm. Witnesses say he had been 'cutting the head off a cat' as he walked along the road.
When officers arrived, they found the victim collapsed in a garden. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police officers cornered the man to stop him attacking anyone else while they evacuated homes along Nightingale Road, Metropolitan Police Commander Simon Letchford said.
The 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and is in custody. He is also receiving medical treatment after sustaining injuries in the arrest.
Rickie Benson, a builder working up the road from the horror scene, said: 'I heard there was a man walking up the road cutting the head off a cat as he made his way to the house.
'I saw them taking a body out. It was in a bag and they were putting it into an ambulance at about 2.30. I heard someone was murdered in the house.'
Lauren Perkins, who lived on nearby Goodwin Road, told the Enfield Independent: 'I was walking down the road when I saw a man with a big knife walking down the street.
'Then I saw some police come down and they told me to get off the road. I just can't believe something like that would happen. It's just so shocking.'
Dino Evagorou, 58, who lives in Nightingale Road, near to the victim, said: 'I was in the house on my own at around 1 and I suddenly heard helicopters.
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A woman has been found beheaded in a suburban back garden after a man 'went berserk with a machete' after first being seen attacking cats in a residential London street. Forensic officers at the scene
Forensic Officers at the scene where a woman was found beheaded in North London. The woman was found at around 1pm today
Police have launched a murder investigation after today's incident in which a woman was killed in Edmonton
The victim, who is believed to be of Italian descent, has been named as Palmira Silva, 82
'I looked outside. Before you know it there were just police sirens everywhere. A big group of police charged one of the flats with batons and smashed some of the windows.
'I think the flat is rented. I didn’t see what happened inside or when they came out. They’ve put up loads of cordons and so on.'
Commander Simon Letchford said: 'There were a number of people resident. What we do know is that this male has gone along a number of the back gardens of this premises.
'Officers who attended the scene have evacuated a number of those people from those premises to make them safe.
'During that period they distracted the man from carrying out any further attacks.'
Members of the public gather at the scene. Witnesses have said they saw the man 'cutting the head off a cat' before the attack
Commander Simon Letchford of the Metropolitan Police said officers had smashed house windows to get people out after the man had been 'cornered' in a house
The arrested man is currently in hospital being treated for injuries suffered when he was arrested, he said
He added that officers had smashed house windows to get people out after the man had been 'cornered' in a house.
He continued: 'They (the officers) did everything they could to evacuate people from those premises and that clearly they were aware of what had happened and they put themselves in extreme danger to protect the public, to ensure that his behaviour was stopped as soon as it possibly could be.'
Cmdr Letchford confirmed that police were called to the scene by initial reports of a man attacking an animal, a cat or a dog.
A weapon was recovered at the scene but he would not reveal what it was. Tasers were deployed as the man was arrested, he said.
The arrested man is currently in hospital being treated for injuries suffered when he was arrested, he said.
Forensic investigators examine the ground near the scene of the beheading. Police have urged anyone with detail or footage of the attack to contact officers
Eyewitnesses had reported seeing a 'madman with a machete' in the area around lunchtime
Police will then determine when he can be interviewed. Cmdr Letchford said they were still trying to establish the attacker's motive.
Eyewitnesses had reported seeing a 'madman with a machete' in the area around lunchtime.
Sky News reports that other potential victims fled in a car from the area where the attack took place.
It is believed they escaped the scene in a Blue Ford Focus car, which reportedly made it only a few hundred yards before it was stopped.
Two 'crying and screaming' young boys were seen being lifted out a window by police from a house where the woman was allegedly beheaded.
Taxi firm manger Kharul Islam, 40, saw the officers being handed two boys aged around three and seven out of the window and then led to safety as they tried to raid the house in Nightingale Road.
They surrounded the front and back door and asked a woman in the house to pass out the weeping children.
They surrounded the front and back door and asked a woman in the house to pass out the weeping children.
Eyewitnesses had reported seeing a 'man with a machete' in the area around lunchtime
A weapon was recovered at the scene but officers would not reveal what it was. Tasers were deployed as the man was arrested, they confirmed
The murder scene is near the junction of Nightingale Road and Goodwin Road
DCI John Sandlin, who is leading this investigation, said: 'This is was a highly visible attack in broad daylight on a residential street'
Police attend the scene in Nightingale Road after a woman was found dead in a garden
Officers cordoned off the road as investigators combed the scene for clues
He said: 'When the police arrived there was a lot of panic and they were trying to get through the windows on the ground floor.
'They were talking to the family inside. I saw two kids being held out of the window, I think they were boys by a woman. She looked like their mother and was older than the guy arrested.Then the police smashed their way into the house.
'The family looked like they might be from Afghanistan. They were screaming and crying. I saw a police lady holding both of them.
'The mother came out and then they went into the van.'
Cmdr Letchford said the investigation has now been handed over to the Homicide and Major Crime unit. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) have also been informed after the man was injured during the arrest.
The next door neighbour of the house where the attack took place, who wished not to be named, said: 'I heard lots of screaming and shouting coming from next door.
'Then a guy with a knife was in our back garden. There was a lot of blood on the knife and he was just hacking away at stuff. It's just unbelievable, I'm so shocked.'
George Stutianou, who was working on a nearby house when the attack happened, said: 'There were so many police here, there must have been about 30 cars.
'I saw some police smashing the doors and the windows of three houses either side through women and children.
'We were in the road and two policemen were running as fast as they could towards us, shouting at us to run and get out of the street. We just didn't know what was going on.'
A long stretch of the road in north London was cordoned off as police investigate
Senior borough police and detectives from the Met's Homicide and Serious Crime Command at the scene
Nightingale Road is a typical suburban street in the London Borough of Edmonton. The average house value on there is £310,000, while it is £275,000 in the local N9 postcode area
Scotland Yard has so far refused to comment on reports the victim had been decapitated and given few details of what happened
An ambulance woman spokesman said: 'We were called at 1.30pm to an incident in Nightingale Road, Edmonton. We sent a number of resources to the scene including London's Air Ambulance, an ambulance crew and a duty officer.
'Sadly a woman was pronounced dead at the scene by the doctor from London's Air Ambulance.'
Witness Ricardo Kwiek told Sky News: 'We've seen a lot of police coming in. They got to the door, and when they got there, the person didn't want to let them in.
'But the police wanted to get in through the back, and the person wouldn't let them in. So they broke the door down. After that there was a man that came out and they got him.
Aerial images show police and forensics officers at the crime scene
Eyewitnesses reported seeing a 'madman with a machete' in the area, but a man has now been arrested in connection with the incident
Police cordon: A man has been arrested after the woman was found at an address in north London this afternoon
'But he was fighting with police - and they got him in the police van. Some local people that maybe seen it closer, they said they saw two children.
'But I'm not 100 per cent sure about that because that's what the locals told me. I wasn't that close to see what he looked like.
'When the police arrived we were shocked to see so much police in one second, that was very weird for us. There was around maybe 40 police cars that came in and blocked the road.
They broke the door down. After that there was a man that came out and they got him
'I think they handled it pretty good, because straight away they blocked off the area and told people to come out of their houses. Some of the police are still outside investigating what happened.'
The road is a typical suburban street in the London Borough of Edmonton. The average house value on there is £310,000, while it is £275,000 in the local N9 postcode area.
Twitter users reacted with shock following the incident.
Kelly Gannon said: 'Edmonton makes me so sick there's always some kind of killing going on.'
'Sultanic_10' said: 'Nightingale Road is where my secondary school was, there's obviously a secondary school and a primary school very nearby.'
And Alex Ioanno, of nearby Enfield, said: 'Used to walk down Nightingale Road every day and a woman's been beheaded. Stay safe people, it's a crazy world.'
Fashion designer Moyowa Akitikori said on Twitter: 'Someone just beheaded near my road. I'm so not leaving my house.
'Just this afternoon is just so sad like I go running on Nightingale Road and just when I thought I lived in a safe area [sic].'
And Matthew Williamson said: 'I chose the right day to be working off Nightingale Road. Woman [has] been beheaded on the next b***** road. What is wrong with this world?'
Cuckoo Hall Primary School is located just off Nightingale Road, but a spokesman declined to comment on the situation nearby when approached by MailOnline.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk
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