Sword attack victim ‘had headphones in’ and did not hear warnings – neighbour

A neighbour who witnessed a sword attack on a 14-year-old boy in east London has told how she tried to warn the teenager but he could not hear her because he was wearing headphones.

Aiste Dabasinskaite, Daniel Anjorin’s next-door neighbour, said the attacker had initially confronted her on Tuesday morning before attacking the teenager.

She said she and others had tried to shout warnings to Daniel.

She told the PA news agency: “The man approached me first and I managed to run away when he drew the sword.

“We were shouting and waving towards Daniel as he came out.

“He had his headphones in so he wouldn’t hear us. It just happened right before our eyes, it was horrible.”

Marcus Arduini Monzo, 36, a dual Spanish-Brazilian national living in Newham, east London, has appeared in court accused of murdering Daniel as he was walking to school on Tuesday, and injuring four other people.

Meanwhile, floral tributes, hand-written notes and teddies have been left at the bottom of Laing Close in Hainault, as well as a painting of Daniel.

Ms Dabasinskaite added: “It’s horrible isn’t it, poor boy, I feel really bad for his family.

“As my next-door neighbour, we used to say hello and wave at each other in the mornings when he left for school.”

On the outpouring of support from the local community, she said: “It’s lovely, it’s really nice, we’ve had people coming from all over, coming and putting flowers down.

“They’re really supportive, we’ve got a great community here, we never expected something like this to happen.”

Another neighbour who witnessed the attack, and wished to remain anonymous, said Daniel’s family was in shock.

“Yesterday I spoke to the father and he was shocked,” she told PA, adding: “He had tears.

“We know them, just hello and hi, seeing the kids around, a very nice family.”

The neighbour said the events of Tuesday morning, which she saw unfold from her window, had impacted her daily life.

“Since this happened, I don’t even want to go outside,” she said.

“I can’t even sleep during the night because all I can see is him standing there with the sword, body and blood.”

She praised the emergency services for their swift response.

“The ambulance was here on time, they tried to help but it was just because of him that they couldn’t help,” she said, adding: “He was trying to attack them with the sword.”