A terror-suspect has appeared in court charged with stabbing a police officer and a middle-aged couple on New Year’s Eve at one of Britain’s busiest train stations.
Mahdi Mohamud, 25, is alleged to have knifed the victims at Victoria station in Manchester around 9pm on December 31 last year.
He was said to have stabbed James Knox and Anna Charlton, both in their fifties, multiple times before knifing an officer in the shoulder.
Dutch national Mohamud did not enter a plea today at Westminster Magistrates Court in London as he appeared via videolink in a black jumper.
He is charged with three counts of attempted murder and one count contrary to Section 58 (1) (a) of the 2000 Terrorism Act.
This refers to the possession of a document or record likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.
It was heard that James Knox was left with a fractured skull while Anna Charlton received a punctured lung and slash wounds on her face.
The court heard Mohamud had allegedly downloaded a document entitled ‘seven most lethal ways to strike with a knife’ on his computer.
Prosecutor Linday Weinstein said: “In relation to the fourth matter, he had moved on to weaponry, accessing four different websites and publications.
“He had the use of VPN to hide his web use – it’s an application which will hide your IP address.
“He also accessed the dark web and the anonymous search engine Duck Duck Go.
“The searches date back from 2012 to 2018.”
Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot said: “It’s a very serious allegation of attempted murder and accessing terrorism material.
“If convicted you will be facing a serious custody sentence.”
The case was adjourned to June 21, when Mohamud, from Manchester, will appear at Oxford Crown Court.