Samiualahq Akbari

"It's clear that Akbari was malicious in his intention to injure as many people as possible.He specifically sought to identify and target people from a certain nationality and to cause them as much harm as possible. I'm pleased to see that this dangerous man's actions have been met with this lengthy sentence and I hope it gives those targeted in the attack some form of closure."

- Detective Constable Chris Dimner after Akbari's conviction. Samiualahq Akbari is a 32-year-old British Muslim convicted of attempting to kill several people with a knife during a drunken rampage. While drunk, Akbari had called his cousin on the 8th of January 2019 and told him he wanted to "kill English people", causing his concerned cousin to go and check on him. After calling the police, he tried to convince Akbari to go home, but Akbari ran away after realising the police were after him. he entered a kebab shop, snatched a knife, and went on a rampage during which he tried to kill several people until he was stopped by police. After being convicted of attempted murder and another incident the previous year involving him throwing rocks at passing cars, he received a prison sentence of 21 years for attempted murder and 4 years for breaching his licence with regards to the previous incident.