Man went on frenzied knife attack during rush hour at London station
A knifeman who carried out a frenzied machete attack in front of horrified commuters at a busy train station is facing years behind bars.
Aidan Watts, 20, pleaded guilty to GBH over the attack at Imperial Wharf railway station during the afternoon rush hour on June 18 last year.
Police and paramedics rushed to the scene of the stabbing where the victim was found with ‘multiple life-threatening injuries’ to his thigh, abdomen and buttocks.
He was rushed to hospital were medics managed to stabilise him.
Watts, along with co-defendants Jakada Joseph, 22, and Stefan Kosavac-Godart, 19 – who were both convicted of affray – fled the scene.
Witnesses described seeing Watts carrying a machete with a red 40cm blade as he ran away.
But CCTV footage tracked him to a nearby estate, where he threw away items of clothing and tried to stash the knife away.
All three were arrested between June 22 and July 29.
DCI Paul Attwell, of the British Transport Police, said: ‘What was a normal summer’s evening at a busy West London station very quickly escalated into serious violence.
‘The two parties were on the same train, within feet of each other, and had the group not noticed the victim then the whole incident could have been avoided.
‘As it was, they spotted him and outnumbered him, before Watts launched a spontaneous but targeted frenzied attack on the platform.
‘I’m pleased to see his conviction. Our detectives worked tirelessly to gather a wealth of witness statements, CCTV footage and forensic evidence.
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‘I’d like to thank them and our colleagues from the Metropolitan Police Service and the Crown Prosecution Service for supporting our investigation.’
All three will be sentenced at Inner London Crown Court on April 16.
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