Dubai: Four people were arrested in connection with a hammer attack on three Emirati sisters in London on April 6. The women, in their thirties, have been hospitalised with severe head and facial injuries. They were staying on the seventh floor of the four-star Cumberland Hotel near Marble Arch in the West End of London.
A report in The Guardian quoted a Metropolitan police spokesman as saying three men, ages 56, 34 and 32, were arrested at Islington, north London, on suspicion of attempted murder. A 31-year-old woman was also held on suspicion of handling stolen goods, the paper said.
“All I can say is, pray for my sisters,” a family member told XPRESS from London. “I cannot say anything further.”
The three women were holidaying in London with three children, aged between seven and 12. They were asleep in adjoining rooms at the hotel when the attackers broke in. The children were left unharmed.
“This is an exceptionally unusual and rare incident to have taken place in a busy London hotel and we are currently working around the clock to identify and secure CCTV as well as forensic evidence opportunities,” Detective superintendent Carl Mehta of the Metropolitan Police said. “At this early stage we believe the motive to be theft.”
He said the family’s hotel room had been unlocked and room security was not breached. “The hammer was recovered from the scene of the crime,” he said.
London is a popular tourist destination among Gulf residents. Ayham S., an Emirati film student who holidays in London with his family, said: “London is a getaway destination for many GCC nationals. To think it happened in one of the busiest parts of the city is discouraging for tourists.”
