Teenager, 17, is charged after 'blade attack' on worshippers at Sikh temple that left two women injured

A teenage boy has been charged after a blade attack on worshippers at a Sikh temple in Gravesend, Kent. 

Kent Police was called to the Sri Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara at 8.10pm on Thursday 11 July 2024 after a reported disturbance.

Two women were left with cuts and bruises to their hands and arms but no one was seriously injured, the force confirmed.

Police recovered a bladed weapon and secured the area.

The 17-year-old boy has been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, using or threatening unlawful violence, threats to kill, threatening a person with a bladed weapon and possessing a bladed article in a public place.

The teenager has been remanded in custody and will appear before Maidstone Crown Court later today.

On Thursday evening a teenager reportedly entered the peaceful place of worship with the deadly weapon. 

Avtar Singh, 44,  tackled the boy who he described as wielding two swords.

He said: 'We'd been told, suddenly, everyone just go out of the temple and I was just wondering what they were saying it like that.

'So I was sending my kids and missus downstairs and as soon as I heard they were calling me "Avtar, Avtar - come upstairs" so I just went upstairs, I didn't know what was going on.

'When I went into the hall, the guy was sitting there on the money pot - sitting there with the two swords in his hands, nothing on his head and in an aggressive mood. I can't see that - this is against our religion, I perceived that much.

'I just went straight to him, tried to tackle him - he put a sword onto me as well, then I fell on the floor, then we hit him with the thing to try to hold him, he fell on the floor as well.'

He added: 'I was grabbing his legs and twisting his feet that way to try to control him, then police put the handcuffs on - otherwise you would not have even got handcuffs on them.'

Mr Singh said two girls had been attacked, including one bitten on the shoulder and on the hand.

He continued: 'The way he was running and with two swords in his hand, running along all through there with the public and hitting two public people already.

'It was really bad.

'Then he ran away around the other side, he ran around the other way, and we chased him all the way along to the Trinity School and then two Indian lads stopped him there, held him and by that time the police came.'

The force confirmed they were treating it as an isolated incident.

Gravesend Gurdwara spokesman Jagdev Singh Virdee, 68, said on Thursday: 'It's a shock to have this sort of incident and the attention that it is receiving for a gurdwara - which we consider to be a place of sanctity, security, peacefulness and so on.

'To have the sort of incident happening in a gurdwara is a shock to the whole community because we're welcoming of everybody and we like to remain in high spirits.

'We don't want to be seen as not welcoming people from any community - Gurdwaras are open to everyone and we want to keep it that way so we will be reviewing our security to see how we can improve it even more.'

He said the incident happened after Sukhasan, a Sikh closing ritual that occurs as the sun goes down at the end of wroship, had taken place, and confirmed the holy book Guru Granth Sahib Ji was not present in the hall.

The spokesman continued: 'The Gurdwara is cooperating fully with Kent Police who are treating the incident very seriously, with the District Commander on site to support whilst the investigation is ongoing. The person was spotted by the Gurdwara security team and police were called immediately.

'We will update the Sangat over the next few days as more information becomes available.'

On Thursday evening, one resident told Kent Online: 'The police helicopter was circling over the town centre at around 8pm, shortly afterwards the air ambulance landed in the grounds of the Gurdwara.

'There were two ambulances and five police vehicles parked in Trinity Road which was taped off by Holy Trinity primary school.

'A neighbour said that she'd heard that two people had been stabbed inside the gurdwara with a large knife.'

Angela Rayner, the new Deputy Prime Minister, visited the Gurdwara in Kent less than two weeks before the attack.

As part of the general election campaign, she met with leaders of the Gurdwara alongside Labour's candidate Dr Lauren Sullivan - who later took the Gravesham seat from long-standing Conservative MP Adam Holloway.

Detailing her visit in a post on X, Rayner said: 'It was an honour to visit Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara in Gravesend with Labour's candidate Lauren Sullivan.

'We met with leaders of the Gurdwara and discussed Labour's commitment to working in partnership with faith communities to deliver the change Britain needs.'

Reacting to the news, Dr Sullivan, the newly elected MP for Gravesham, said: 'I am shocked and saddened by the incident at the Gurdwara in Gravesend this evening. My thoughts are with those hurt, their family, and the community.

'I would like to thank the emergency services for their swift response to this awful event.

'Full details are still emerging and there are many rumours running about so it is right that we let the emergency services deal with the situation and complete their investigation and release the information as they can.'

Security minister Dan Jarvis also posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he was being updated about the attack, adding: 'All communities must be safe in their places of worship.'

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