Burnley Marks and Spencer double stabbing: man found guilty of terror-related attempted murder

From the Burnley Express  and the Daily Mail

Munawar Hussain (59) is now awaiting sentence, a possible life term, after he stabbed M and S employee Samatha Worthington (41) in the neck and chased her through the shop before turning on customer Janet Dell, stabbing her in the arm.

A jury at Manchester Crown Court convicted Hussain on Friday of the attempted murder of Miss Worthington, and of wounding with intent against customer Ms Dell.

Judge Nicholas Dean KC told the court: “An offence arising out of claims that Israel was causing atrocities against Muslims, and an attack of retribution for that, at face value, is precisely the definition of a terrorist offence.”

Hussain was found with a note, written in Urdu, which read: “O Israel, you are inflicting atrocities on Palestinians and Marks Spencer is helping you financially.”

Ms Worthington – stabbed close to her jugular vein – told the court she pledged she would stay alive for her three children after she was stabbed.

Mrs Dell, who was doing her Christmas shopping, tried to get away after she was stabbed but slipped on her own blood and as she got up Hussain tried to stab her again in the back. ‘I thought he’s going to kill me, he’s going to stab me and I couldn’t speak, the words wouldn’t come out,’ she told police.

The December 2020 attack only came to an end by an ‘incredible stroke of luck’ when Hussain’s blade broke after getting stuck in his second victim’s handbag strap as he tried to stab her in the back.  Having lost the knife, the video shows Hussain fleeing but he was chased from the shop by a store detective who confronted and detained him nearby.

Giving evidence, Hussain said he believed in supporting jihad and had launched the attack so that: ‘Allah will be happy with me.’

He initially said he intended to kill his victims and, if the knife had not broken, he would have attacked more people but later claimed he only meant to wound the women. Although no extremist material was found at his home, Hussain said he believed what he was doing was jihad. In an interview with police, he said he believed he was doing ‘an honourable thing, something to be proud of’ and that he might end up a ‘martyr’ if he was shot. (He told police) he was inspired by Usman Khan, the terrorist who stabbed two Cambridge graduates to death at a prisoner rehabilitation conference at Fishmongers’ Hall on London Bridge in 2019.

The Judge adjourned sentencing until May for reports.