A young man was stabbed in broad daylight in a central London park on Thursday after a fight broke out, sending terrified people fleeing.
One witness wrote on Twitter that a crowd of people came screaming out of the park on Queen Square, Bloomsbury.
She said a man with a knife was seen running through the area and shouting.
One witness claimed to have seen two youths, one armed with a machete and the other carrying a knife, approaching a group young men in the park before a fight broke out.
Police arrived on the scene, near Great Ormond Street Hospital and Russell Square Tube station just after 6.30pm.
Photos showed the gates to the park cordoned off by officers.
One witness wrote on Twitter: “Crowd ran out of park, man with knife running, shouting. Police now here, sectioned off the park.”
A doctor tweeted that worried workers at the hospital had been assured the incident was not terror related.
A spokesman for the Met Police said: “Police were called on Thursday, 22 June, at around 6.35pm to reports of a number of people fighting in Queens Square.
“Officers attended and were informed that suspects had made off prior to police arrival.
“A 20-year-old man was taken to a central London hospital with a stab injury by the London Ambulance Service. We await an update on his condition.
“Officers remain on scene and enquiries are ongoing.”
