Daily London
Ioan-Alexandru Pintaru, a 33-year-old homeless man, randomly stabbed the girl as she left the LEGO store at Leicester Square on August 12 last year.
He stabbed her as he held her in a headlock, leaving her with wounds to the eye, neck, chest and shoulder, leaving her with serious injuries.
The mother of the girl later said in court that Pintaru attacked her daughter “like a jackhammer, repeatedly stabbing.”
“[He] was wide-eyed and manic like nothing was going to stop him,” she added.
Pintaru was later diagnosed as schizophrenic, but claimed he believed people were trying to kill him, and that he did not intend to hurt anyone.
Pintaru was charged with, and later convicted of, causing grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of a bladed article after pleading guilty to both counts in October.
On Tuesday, he was sentenced to a hospital order under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act with an additional restriction order under Section 41.
This means he could be detained indefinitely.
The violence of the attack was particularly shocking, according to police.
“It was a savage and brutal attack that left the city in shock,” Detective Constable Laura Nicoll said.
