Woman arrested after four stabbed in London's popular Covent Garden

A woman was arrested after four men were stabbed in Covent Garden, a busy area of central London popular with tourists, in a suspected "mental health related incident", police said Wednesday.

Emergency services were called to the incident around 12:30pm local time (1130 GMT).

"A 47-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and assault," London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement posted on X.

She remained in custody Wednesday afternoon, it said, noting officers had seized a pair of scissors at the scene.

The four victims – aged 34, 39, 42, and 52 – were taken to hospital where two remained with injuries not "believed to be life-threatening or life changing," the force added. The two other men attacked were discharged within hours.

"While still at an early stage of the investigation, we would like to reassure the community that we currently believe this to be an isolated mental health related incident," Met Chief Superintendent Jason Stewart said in a brief statement.

Witnesses working in a nearby restaurant said police had used tasers to arrest the woman, who was known locally as a homeless person who regularly frequented the area.

"They (police officers) were chasing away the lady who had a knife in her hand," waiter Ahmad – who declined to give his surname – told AFP.

"I saw the lady get tased (tasered) by the police, it was the only way they could get her to drop the knife."

Police did not confirm the use of tasers in their statements.

Striking images published by media showed an air ambulance helicopter in Trafalgar Square and a street lined with stores and patio seating cordoned off by police tape.

Shootings are rare in the UK, where the sale of firarms is highly regulated, but the government has been struggling to clamp down on the use of knives and other sharp objects.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)