UK- Girl, 11, stabbed in London's Leicester Square, August 2024, "Suspect arrest*

[CredibleSauce]

This rings true to me. I live in NYC and we also have people walking around who are clearly disturbed. (But it's not as if the city is suddenly dangerous, like some news outlets lead people to think!)

We need to come up with mental-health solutions. I do not have the answers and don't pretend to. But people who need help walking around the streets in agitation is not good for anyone. Like this witness described, you can see someone who is agitated and seems disturbed, but it's not illegal to be like that - so what are we supposed to do?

jmo

Interesting that in all of these recent high profile attacks the accused perp is a man and the victims are women and girls.
Mental health related or not it’s pretty telling - there are plenty of homeless and/or mentally ill women, they are a growing demographic in fact, but somehow they seem to be abstaining from attacking innocent members of the public in a high profile sense at the very least.

Look at the Bondi Junction attack earlier this year -Australian authorities say the stabbing was "mental health" related, but they believe Cauchi targeted women.
The youngest victim was a 9 month old baby girl (thankfully she survived - her mother didn’t).

Something has to be done about the sheer amount of demonstrably agitated individuals out in public who have clear violent interests or tendencies.. it’s not illegal to be mentally ill, or homeless, or interested in knives but the combination seems directly involved in a number of these attacks of late and I’m truly sick of reading the same story over and over when the warning signs were there from the start, while governments sit on their hands regarding mental health treatment accessibility and homelessness and frankly, male violence against women.

 

[worldwatcher]

Man, 32, in court after girl, 11, is stabbed in Leicester Square

Ioan Pintaru, 32, allegedly put the child in a headlock before attacking her until he was restrained by members of the public before police arrived and arrested him in London's Leicester Square.

www.dailymail.co.uk

A Romanian man stabbed an 11-year-old girl eight times with a steak knife at Leicester Square while she was on holiday with her mother, a court heard today.
Pintaru was remanded in custody to next appear at the Old Bailey on September 10. He has a four-year-old child who lives in Manchester, but he is currently homeless.

He's a father?
Just like Abdalmasih H who was also homeless

I am still amazed and sad that, there are people out there, who can do this.... Very sad.

 

[Dotta]

HGV Driver . His CV type thing looking for work

Ioan Alexandru Pantaru | Hirett

hirett.com

So...

Once upon a time:
- he was a truck driver,
- he had a gf/partner/wife (?)
- he had a son
- they all lived in Manchester as a family
- he had friends
- he looked healthy

Now...
Speed up a few years:
- he is lonely
- he loiters in London without fixed address
- he carries a knife
- he looks unhealthy and gaunt
- he seems agitated at times
- he attacks a random child

Whatever went wrong?
What happened?



(All assumptions based on posts in this tread)

JMO

 

[bluetit]

Why would he attack an 11 year old girl? Why why why? Why not an adult? Does he have an unhealthy interest in children?

 

[Twick]

As others on this thread have said. We really need to come up with a solution that balances mental illness versus personal freedom that doesn’t resolve to “we let people wander around until they hurt someone.” But it will take a much smarter person than me to figure out what that is.

 

[Dotta]

I wonder...

If he was a truck driver
it might mean he was working in the UK on a temporary contract
(I once read there was shortage of such drivers in the UK after Brexit).

Maybe that is why he has no fixed address
as he just probably rents a room/s and is on the road most of the time.

Although
with evident MH issues I'm not sure who would employ such a driver.

It seems at one point in time
a downhill spiral started.

Maybe he stopped taking meds.

Being in a foreign country
it seems problematic to meet MH specialist and get prescription for medicaments.
They are not just over the counter meds and regular meetings with a doctor is necessary.

Just my speculations
and
JMO

 

[mpnola]

I was in this exact spot visiting London and the M&m store the day before!!! So scary. I simply cannot imagine the fear.

The answer to why did he target an 11 year old was likely because she was who he could control without getting beaten in the fight.

 

[ttcRider]

As others on this thread have said. We really need to come up with a solution that balances mental illness versus personal freedom that doesn’t resolve to “we let people wander around until they hurt someone.” But it will take a much smarter person than me to figure out what that is.

YES! I wish we could figure this out.

 

[Skigh]

Girl, 11, stabbed in Leicester Square is an Australian on holiday

The victim, said to need plastic surgery, was allegedly put in a headlock by Ioan Pintaru, 32, who is accused of attacking her before being restrained by members of the public.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Revealed: Girl, 11, stabbed eight times in Leicester Square attack is an Australian who was on holiday in London with her family .​

The victim, who will require plastic surgery, was allegedly put in a headlock by Ioan Pintaru, 32, who is accused of attacking her before being restrained by members of the public and arrested by police.
The girl, from New South Wales, was left with injuries to the face, shoulder, wrist and neck after the 'random attack' at the London tourist spot with her mother, 34, on Monday at 11.34am.

 

[Legal]

That poor girl here on holiday. Like the French child thrown off the Tate balcony. I agree with what others have said above- having mental health issues doesn't seem to prevent these men from identifying children as easy targets who can't fight back (I appreciate we don't know anything about IP's motive or state of health).

Homelessness can be caused by the breakdown of a relationship and young men tend to be adversely impacted as women, children and the elderly are usually prioritised (I volunteered for CRISIS for a short spell many years ago).

 

[Skigh]

That poor girl here on holiday. Like the French child thrown off the Tate balcony. I agree with what others have said above- having mental health issues doesn't seem to prevent these men from identifying children as easy targets who can't fight back (I appreciate we don't know anything about IP's motive or state of health).

Homelessness can be caused by the breakdown of a relationship and young men tend to be adversely impacted as women, children and the elderly are usually prioritised (I volunteered for CRISIS for a short spell many years ago).

He presumably still has family /friends in Romania he could have chosen to return there .

 

[GRT]

I agree with what others have said above- having mental health issues doesn't seem to prevent these men from identifying children as easy targets who can't fight back (I appreciate we don't know anything about IP's motive or state of health).

SBM for focus...

We apply the "mental illness" label to virtually everyone when we don't understand how they could do the evil they do. But, as you say, these guys seem to be cognizant enough to be able to pick the weaker females and girls out of the crowd for targeting. They're not so mentally ill that they choose the biggest guy in the square.

So, perhaps some mental illness is involved, but it also seems as though some of these guys target females not only because they're weaker but also perhaps for other reasons, such as believing the fairer sex deserves it.

 

[Rikissa]

He presumably still has family /friends in Romania he could have chosen to return there .

And what about his child in the UK? Isn't it a part of his family too, or do you mean that all contact between a homeless and/or mentally ill father and child is to be severed?

 

[Dotta]

SBM for focus...

We apply the "mental illness" label to virtually everyone when we don't understand how they could do the evil they do. But, as you say, these guys seem to be cognizant enough to be able to pick the weaker females and girls out of the crowd for targeting. They're not so mentally ill that they choose the biggest guy in the square.

So, perhaps some mental illness is involved, but it also seems as though some of these guys target females not only because they're weaker but also perhaps for other reasons, such as believing the fairer sex deserves it.

"There is method
to this madness"

 

[Inthedetails]

SBM for focus...

We apply the "mental illness" label to virtually everyone when we don't understand how they could do the evil they do. But, as you say, these guys seem to be cognizant enough to be able to pick the weaker females and girls out of the crowd for targeting. They're not so mentally ill that they choose the biggest guy in the square.

So, perhaps some mental illness is involved, but it also seems as though some of these guys target females not only because they're weaker but also perhaps for other reasons, such as believing the fairer sex deserves it.

I think it's safe to say that if you respect women (or anyone), you don't stab them (or punch them or insult them or SA them or murder them). Many crimes against women are because the perp has no respect and holds hate against them in general. imo

And, women/girls are vulnerable victims as well as they are more likely to be easily overcome by the perp.

Given that, the unhinged people who have randomly hurt strangers in my city have also attacked men and some of the perps have been women. When mental illness is left untreated, I don't think we can predict what exactly will happen.

jmo

 

[sriraaacha]

Before we go heavy on the "females are always the target" again, maybe this child was his "best" option in the situation, it's possible he just saw an open opportunity and carried out the attack irrationally rather than having it all planned out. Another possibility is that his own child is a girl and maybe he's not able to see her so he took his frustration out on another one. If females were his target then there was nothing stopping him from stabbing the mother too but from what we've read it seems like his only interest was in the child, but for what reason we don't know.

This is all just imo, seems like such a stretch at this stage to be connecting this attack to anything gender related tbh.

So sad that the girl and her mom were on holiday I bet they never imagined anything like this would happen.

 

[GRT]

Before we go heavy on the "females are always the target" again, maybe this child was his "best" option in the situation, it's possible he just saw an open opportunity and carried out the attack irrationally rather than having it all planned out. Another possibility is that his own child is a girl and maybe he's not able to see her so he took his frustration out on another one. If females were his target then there was nothing stopping him from stabbing the mother too but from what we've read it seems like his only interest was in the child, but for what reason we don't know.

This is all just imo, seems like such a stretch at this stage to be connecting this attack to anything gender related tbh.

So sad that the girl and her mom were on holiday I bet they never imagined anything like this would happen.

You're correct--this attack on the 11-year old girl might not have been gender-related at all. It's still early on, and hopefully, we'll get more info.

But it's worth mentioning that there is a growing trend of violence against women in the UK. CNN reports that it's at "epidemic" levels.

There can be many causes, but when we see regional increases like this, there's usually something that lies beneath. Are the attacks poverty-related? Gang-related? Domestic violence?

When something becomes familiar, it loses its shock factor. And then, those who are mentally inept can view the class of victims as weak and deserving of such treatment.

Again, I don't know what happened in this case, but the UK is seeing an increase in violence against women, and I hope someone is trying to curb it.

 

[dotr]

fwiw
Aug 14 '24

Violence against women on UK trains rises by 50% in two years

Number of sexual offences rises 10% and reports of sexual harassment double to 1,908, figures show

www.theguardian.com

''Violence against women and girls on British railways has risen by more than 50% over two years, according to official figures.
The number of crimes against women and girls rose from 7,561 in 2021 to 11,357 in 2023, and the number of sexual offences rose 10% from 2,235 to 2,475, according to a survey commissioned by British Transport Police. The survey, first reported in the Times, also found the number of sexual harassment reports doubled to 1,908, over the two-year period.''
“I think it’s just a reminder of the fact that we’ve got this issue of violence against women and girls that isn’t going away and if anything is getting worse,” said Anna Birley, a co-founder of Reclaim These Streets, which organised the London vigil for Sarah Everard, 33, who was killed by the police officer Wayne Couzens in 2021.''

Violence against women

WHO fact sheet on violence against women providing key facts and information on the scope of the problem, health consequences, prevention, WHO response.

www.who.int

 

[Sarahlou]

He presumably still has family /friends in Romania he could have chosen to return there .

This is from an interview with his mother. He did move back in 2022 but returned to the UK in May.

Mrs Girla revealed Pintaru had worked as a long-distance lorry driver for the past 10 years and had ‘no social life.’

He moved to England around six years ago and had been in a long term relationship with the mother of his four-year-old daughter.

In May 2022, Mrs Girla said, he returned home to Romania.

He returned to the UK in May for work, but was injured in a road traffic accident a few weeks later, which forced him to look for a new employer.

Mother of man suspected of stabbing tourist says she is 'deeply sorry'

The Mail tracked down Ioan Pintaru's (right) mother, Magda Girla (left), to his hometown of Pucioasa, around 65 miles north west of the capital Bucharest.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[CredibleSauce]

Before we go heavy on the "females are always the target" again, maybe this child was his "best" option in the situation, it's possible he just saw an open opportunity and carried out the attack irrationally rather than having it all planned out. Another possibility is that his own child is a girl and maybe he's not able to see her so he took his frustration out on another one. If females were his target then there was nothing stopping him from stabbing the mother too but from what we've read it seems like his only interest was in the child, but for what reason we don't know.

This is all just imo, seems like such a stretch at this stage to be connecting this attack to anything gender related tbh.

So sad that the girl and her mom were on holiday I bet they never imagined anything like this would happen.

Yet time and time again…