Leicester Square: Ioan Pintaru charged with attempting to murder girl
Man charged after girl stabbed in Leicester Square
BBC
Police were called to the busy tourist attraction following reports of a stabbing
A man has been charged with attempted murder after an 11-year-old girl was stabbed in Leicester Square in central London.
Ioan Pintaru, 32, of no fixed address, has also been charged with possession of a bladed article.
It was initially thought the girl's mother had also been hurt, but it was later confirmed that blood from her daughter's wounds had been mistaken for injuries of her own.
The girl was taken to hospital with injuries that are serious but not life-threatening, the Metropolitan Police said.
Mr Pintaru has been remanded into custody to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court later.
Police were called to Leicester Square in central London at 11.30 BST on Monday.
Det Ch Supt Christina Jessah paid tribute to the people "who bravely intervened in this incident", saying: "They put themselves at risk and showed the best of London in doing so."
She added investigators were working to establish the suspect's motive and urged anyone who witnessed what had happened, or had any information, to contact police.
