Jailed, released, attacked: What we know about ‘ISIS-supporting’ South London suspect behind Streatham stabbing

The man who stabbed at least two people in London on Sunday before being shot dead has been tentatively identified as Sudesh Amman, as media reports suggest he was a recently jailed extremist who was known to authorities.

Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Lucy D'Orsi said that London police were “confident” the attacker was indeed Sudesh Amman, after multiple sources identified the stabbing suspect as a young man who made headlines in 2018 when he was jailed for sharing terrorist manuals, which included a tutorial on homemade bombs.

Disturbing details of the case said that Amman had already declared his wish to carry out a terrorist attack, stockpiled arms and openly praised Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS). He even reportedly urged his girlfriend to behead her parents, calling them "kuffars" or non-believers.

Aged just 18 at the time, the resident of Harrow, northwest London, was also apparently into knife fighting. In November 2018, he pleaded guilty to a total of 13 terrorism-related offenses, including six counts of possessing terrorist materials and seven of spreading terrorist propaganda. The teen was active in a family WhatsApp group in which he would share an Al-Qaeda magazine and incite violence toward Yazidis, insisting that the Muslim holy book – the Koran – permitted raping them.

Amman was sentenced to three years and four months behind bars, but was apparently released early.

D'Orsi has confirmed that Amman was closely followed by plainclothes armed officers on foot before the attack. After he charged at passersby, the officers “were in immediate attendance and shot a male suspect dead at the scene,” she said.

Police said earlier that the attack was Islamism- and terrorism-related.

Several outlets have already released the suspect’s mugshot and described details of his conviction. British tabloids said the young man had walked free from jail days before his rampage.

The attacker was shot dead on Sunday after stabbing two people in the South London area of Streatham. 

D’Orsi said that three people were taken to hospital in the aftermath of the incident, noting that a man in his 40s who was previously reported to be in life-threatening condition, is no longer considered to be at risk.

A 50-year-old woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the attack and has since been released from hospital.

Another woman in her 20s was injured by glass that shattered when it was hit by police bullets, and has been receiving treatment in hospital.

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