Three suspects believed to be involved in Wimbledon stabbing

Detectives investigating a stabbing in Wimbledon, south London, believe three suspects were involved and have since recovered a vehicle linked to the attack.

Police were called at 14:49hrs on Friday, 29 March to an address in Wimbledon after a man in his 30s was attacked and sustained an injury to his leg. He has since been discharged from hospital.

At this stage, it remains unclear why the victim was attacked and officers are keeping an open mind as to any motivation behind this.

Because the victim is a journalist at a Persian-language media organisation based in the UK, and previous threats had been directed towards this group of journalists, the incident is being investigated by specialist officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command

Detectives have established the victim was approached by two men in a residential street and attacked. The suspects fled the scene in a vehicle driven by a third male.

The vehicle – a blue Mazda 3 - was abandoned in the New Malden area shortly after the attack. Detectives have located the vehicle and it is being examined by forensic experts. Searches in the area continue.

The investigation team has established that after abandoning the vehicle, the suspects travelled directly to Heathrow Airport and left the UK within a few hours of the attack.

Commander Dominic Murphy, Head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command:

“As a result of a very comprehensive investigation, at pace, we have identified three suspects who we believe, left the UK within hours of the attack.

“Detectives trawled CCTV and made extensive enquiries resulting in the identification and recovery of a vehicle used by the suspects to leave the scene.

“We have established that after abandoning the vehicle, the suspects travelled to Heathrow Airport and have left the UK. We are now working with international partners to establish further details.

“I must reiterate that we are still at an early stage of our investigation, we do not know the reason why this victim was attacked and there could be a number of explanations for this. All lines of enquiry are being pursued and we are keeping an open mind on any potential motivation for the attack.

“I appreciate the concern this incident has caused, for local people and all those impacted. Additional patrols are continuing in the Wimbledon area and at other locations in London. If you have any concerns, please do speak with these officers

“I am grateful to everyone who has assisted officers with their enquiries or provided witness accounts to police.”

Anyone with information about this incident who has yet to speak with officers is asked to call police on 0800 789 321.