Too Early in the Day for This Sort of Thing

Another day, another culturally enriched knife attack in East London.

So “Asians” jumped a man and nearly killed him — what’s the big deal?

It happens all the time these days, but this assault stands out because of its apparently random nature, its brutality, and the fact that it happened at 8:20 in the morning.

According to This Is London:

UK: ‘They Had Knives, They Jumped Me’ — London Teacher Tells of Attack by Gang

A teacher who was almost killed in a gang knife attack near his east London school vowed today to be back in his classroom in September despite suffering horrific injuries.

Gary Smith’s face was slashed from his mouth to his neck and he was stabbed and beaten repeatedly by a group of five Asian youths — all wearing black bandanas — as he walked to work in Mile End. The 37-year-old, a religious studies teacher at Central Foundation School for Girls in Bow, told the Standard he was lucky to be alive after being ambushed at 8.20am on July 12.

At this point you think, “Aha! The poor bloke was targeted because he teaches a blasphemous religion — and to girls!”

But that does not seem to be the case. As far as police can tell, Mr. Smith was chosen because he was an undefended white man walking along the pavement:

Police first treated the attack as a robbery but upgraded the investigation to attempted murder because Mr Smith was so seriously injured. He needed three operations to repair his face and was not discharged from hospital until last night.

Speaking for the first time about the savage attack, he said: “They were all armed with knives. I tried to defend myself and run away but they all jumped me and that’s the last thing I remember. I’m not sure how many times they stabbed me — I’ve got several wounds on my head, and bruises all over my face and body. I wouldn’t want anybody else to suffer what I went through. I survived but somebody else might not. If this is the kind of thing they’re doing, I hope they will be caught soon to keep people safe.”

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Mr Smith, who also runs a martial arts club, said that he did not believe the youths recognised him or targeted him for any reason. He said from his home in Chingford: “I’ve absolutely no idea what the motive could be. I was just walking to work and it seems entirely random. They were probably just looking for someone to hurt and I happened to be there. I’m very pleased to be home so I can start to recover fully. I’ve had a lot of support from my family and my friends and colleagues at school. They’ve all been fantastic. Now I’ve got the summer holidays to get well before the start of school in September, when I’m determined to be back at work.”

Mr Smith’s mother Heather, who was at his hospital bedside every day, said: “His injuries were so bad I didn’t recognise him.

“It was a horrific and evil attack and we need the public’s help so police can catch whoever did it.”

The final paragraph of the article is what stands out:

Detective Inspector Des McHugh, who is leading the hunt for the five attackers, said: “This was an extremely violent incident and unusual at this time of day.” [emphasis added]

The implications of this statement are astonishing: the Metropolitan Police, the guarantors of public safety in Greater London, apparently consider that there is a time of day when a murderous knife attack that leaves a randomly chosen victim disfigured would be normal.

In other words, if it had happened at, say, 1:00 am, it would be no big deal. Just business as usual on the mean streets of East London. Nothing to see here, people — move along.

Then, when Mr. Smith came out from under the anesthesia, the plods would have advised him to stay close to home between dusk and dawn if he wanted to remain safe.

When mayhem occurs at 8:20 am, however, it’s a bit harder to mince your multicultural way around it.

The local council in Hackney spent £440,000 last year to carry children who live in “sensitive urban zones” to and from school in taxis, because it was too dangerous for them to walk.

Perhaps the authorities in Mile End can do the same for Gary Smith.


For a complete listing of previous enrichment news, see The Cultural Enrichment Archives.

Hat tip: JP.