Stabbing attack was Norwegian teenager

The London stabbing earlier this week was carried out by a Norwegian teenager was described by neighbours as a polite and pleasant boy. This is what the Guardian had to say, and note that he is referred to only as a "suspect" who "might" have been responsible, even though he was caught in the act.

"The teenager who allegedly killed an American woman and wounded five others in a stabbing spree in central London was a polite and pleasant boy who rarely got into trouble, according to neighbours.

Zakaria Bulhan, 19, a Norwegian of Somali descent who has been identified as the suspect in the attack in Russell Square on Wednesday night, lived with his mother, 42, his younger brother, 16, and his sister, 24, in a flat in south London.

"Neighbours described him as a polite teenager as reports also emerged that he had wanted to harm himself. He allegedly launched the knife attack shortly after 10.30pm on Wednesday, killing 64-year-old Darlene Horton and injuring five others. Horton was pronounced dead at the scene, just hours before she was due to fly back to the US after the end of her summer break

"His neighbours expressed shock that he might have been responsible for the attack."

It gets worse, too.

"Police have said the suspect has a history of mental illness and that there is nothing to suggest that, as a Muslim, he had been radicalised."

There is, however, more to it though one must read carefully.

"A local postman, who asked not to be named, complained of music and other noises coming from the Bulhan house. “It’s frightening what’s happened. It’s shocking. It’s sad.” 

"He said he went to Graveney secondary school and took A-levels. The Times newspaper quoted a “close family friend” who said Bulhan had called an ambulance six months ago “because he wanted to harm himself”.

“He is a good boy. He has never been trouble. He has been very unwell. He wanted to kill himself. I saw his mother with an ambulance outside their flat and she said Zac had called it because he wanted to hurt himself,” the friend reportedly said. “He called the ambulance about two more times because he was feeling unwell. His mother was very afraid.”

The attack has all the hallmarks of Islamic inspiration. Could it be that Islam can be a cause of mental illness or something that pushes mentally unstable people past a tipping point?