Warning: This post contains graphic details of violence.
In 2024, Daniel Anjorin, a 14-year-old schoolboy in Hainault, East London, waved goodbye to his mother and left for school, his backpack on and headphones in.
Moments later, his life was brutally cut short in a sword attack that shocked the nation.
The attacker, Marcus Monzo, a 37-year-old Brazilian-Spanish national, went on a violent rampage, leaving a trail of devastation.
Monzo was later found guilty of murdering Daniel Anjorin, attempting to murder two others, and seriously injuring police officers who bravely confronted him.
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| Marcus Monzo |
The Attack: A 20-Minute Nightmare
At approximately 7:00 AM on April 30, 2024, Marcus Monzo began his violent rampage in Hainault, East London.
His first victim was Donato Iwule, a local resident who was innocently walking to work.
Monzo deliberately drove his van into Iwule at high speed.
According to BBC, the impact was so powerful that it catapulted Iwule into the air, as described in court documents.
A doorbell camera caught the entire incident, including Iwule’s loud screams as he hit the ground.
Before Iwule could get up from the crash, Monzo got out of the van with a 60cm sword and began attacking him.
Without any hesitation, Monzo chased him down the street, shouting, "I don’t care, I will kill you."
Iwule, bleeding and scared, managed to run away—and thankfully, he survived.
Criminal investigations later confirmed that it was a random attack, and Iwule had no idea who Monzo was.
Moments later, Monzo turned his attention to 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin, who was walking to school with his headphones on.
Witnesses said that Monzo moved quickly, like a predator as he approached Daniel from behind.
Without warning, Monzo raised the sword above his head and slashed Daniel in the head and neck area.
The attack was so severe that Daniel collapsed immediately.
Monzo then dragged the boy’s body into the middle of the road before running away from the scene.
A shocked onlooker, who managed to record part of the terrifying attack, was heard screaming, "He’s just killed that boy!"
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| Daniel Anjorin |
Police Officers Showed "Extraordinary Bravery"
Emergency services were called right away, but things quickly got worse when they arrived.
As paramedics tried to help Daniel, Monzo suddenly ran toward the ambulance and started slashing at it with his sword.
The medics, who later called the moment "extremely frightening," had to back away for their own safety.
At the same time, police officers showed up and shouted at Monzo to "drop the sword!"
When he refused, officers deployed pepper spray, but it had no effect.
Monzo, who was still holding the weapon tightly, shouted, "Does anybody here believe in God?" before running into a nearby alleyway.
PC Yasmin Mechem-Whitfield, armed with a Taser, pursued Monzo into the alley.
But as she reached the end, Monzo suddenly attacked her, slashing her three times with the sword.
She fell to the ground, bleeding heavily, while her colleague, PC Cameron King called for help.
Monzo then broke into a nearby home, where Henry De Los Rios Polania was sleeping with his wife and 4-year-old daughter.
When the couple woke up and saw the intruder, Monzo again asked if they "believed in God."
As Polania tried to protect his wife by raising his arm, Monzo slashed him, causing a deep cut.
Their young daughter started crying at this point, which seemed to make Monzo stop.
He then said he would spare their lives because of their daughter and walked out, leaving Polania badly injured.
The final confrontation occurred near a row of garages, where Monzo was cornered by police.
Inspector Moloy Campbell fought back Monzo in a fierce hand-to-hand struggle, blocking multiple sword strikes with his baton before suffering a gruesome hand injury.
"Monzo was slashing at me with a large sword. I saw my hand was open—I could see the inside of my hand," said Inspector Moloy Campbell.
Additional officers eventually fired Tasers at Monzo, finally subduing him after 20 minutes of terror.
The sword, which had caused so much devastation, was seized as evidence.
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| Marcus Monzo on the day of the attack |
Marcus Monzos Trial and Sentencing: Justice For Daniel Anjorin
Meanwhile, Daniel Anjorin’s family were left shattered after the death of their loved one.
In a heartbreaking statement, they said:
> "It’s difficult for us to fathom that Daniel left the house for school and then he was gone. Our children have lost their loving and precious brother, and we have lost the most loved and amazing son."
Monzo, who was into martial arts, also believed in several conspiracy theories—like the idea that the Earth is flat and that 9/11 never happened.
He grew up in Brazil and later moved to England in 2013.
According to his brother, Monzo started acting differently after going on ayahuasca retreats in the Amazon, where he drank a hallucinogenic tea used in spiritual ceremonies.
After visiting India in 2018, Monzo reportedly started doing extreme things like drinking and washing with his own urine.
He also pulled away from his family and began eating and sleeping very little, as per BBC.
When criminal investigators spoke to Monzo after the attack, he claimed to have "many personalities," including one he described as a professional assassin.
He also admitted to strangling his cat and trying to eat it before the attack, according to BBC
Both the prosecution and defense agreed that Monzo had a psychotic disorder, but prosecutors said his use of weed may have triggered the violent outburst.
On June 25, 2025, Monzo was convicted of murder and multiple attempted murders, and he received a life sentence with parole after 40 years.
The trial left jurors and even Daniel’s father in tears as they watched graphic footage of the attacks.
The Hainault sword attack remains one of the most shocking crimes in recent London history.
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