Russell Square tourist stabbing: 19-year-old Zakaria Bulhan pleads guilty to killing a woman and injuring five others

A man has pleaded guilty to killing an American tourist and injuring five other people in attack in London's Russell Square.

Zakaria Bulhan, 19, was accused of murdering 64-year-old retired teacher Darlene Horton and targeting several other victims on the evening of 3 August last year.

The defendant, from south west London, was charged with murder and the attempted murders of Martin Hoenisch, Lillie Selletin, David Imber, Bernard Hepplewhite and Yovel Lewronski.

Mr Bulhan, a Norwegian national of Somali origin who moved to the UK in 2002, appeared at the Old Bailey on Monday morning where he pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder, but guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Prosecutors said Mr Bulhan was suffering an “acute” episode of paranoid schizophrenia at the time. While the incident raised fears of terrorism, police said it was not considered a terrorist attack.

Ms Horton had been visiting London with her husband Richard Wagner, a Florida State University psychology professor. The couple were due to fly home the next day.