'BLOOD-CURDLING' SCREAMS
Soldier fighting for life after frenzied knife rampage outside army base by attacker who ‘LICKED knife clean’
The army barracks were placed on lockdown with soldiers told they couldn't leave 'for any reason'
A SOLDIER is fighting for his life after a brutal knife attack outside an army base.
Witnesses were appalled as a man armed with two kitchen knives set upon the soldier outside Brompton Barracks in Gillingham, Kent, at around 6pm yesterday.
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The horror attack has chilling echoes of the shocking murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby more than a decade ago.
However, it is not thought to be terror-related at this stage and may have been the result of a mental health episode, according to the force and Home Office.
It comes as photos show the moment a suspect was arrested.
One person claimed the soldier was stabbed around a dozen times with a 10 inch long blade.
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Police cordons remain in place today with marked patrol cars and police tape blocking the road at both ends.
Officers have been marshalling the edge of the crime scene on the leafy residential road.
A horrified witness told The Sun the attacker leapt off a moped and sprinted towards the soldier, in his 40s, stabbing him repeatedly in a frenzied assault.
After about 20 seconds, the victim - understood to be in full uniform - managed to get back on his feet and stagger towards his house, just 50 yards from the barracks.
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The attacker, sporting a ski mask and a NASA bomber jacket, allegedly chased him down and launched a second vicious assault.
A woman - believed to be the soldier’s wife - then ran outside and tried to pull the knifeman off him.
According to the witness, the victim’s wife attempted to pull the knifeman away.
They said: “His wife tried to pull the attacker off. [The attacker] didn’t want her though, he just wanted the soldier.
“Nobody else in the vicinity was in danger - the only person he was targeting was the soldier he attacked.”
Witnesses described hearing a "blood-curdling scream" as the attacker continued with his assault.
Attacker 'licked' blade
Moments later he ran his finger across the knife and licked it in front of shocked bystanders, one person said.
The witness, who rushed to the soldier's aid, said he was left with "wounds all over his body”.
He said the soldier suffered serious injuries to his face and went on to say: “Stab wounds covered his body.
“A deep gash to the back of his left leg.
“Blood was everywhere as I tried to apply pressure to his wounds until the police arrived.
"When the guy's wife came out and started trying to pull the guy off he didn't even try to hurt her."
Alex Reynolds, who lives opposite the road where the attack happened, told The Sun this morning: “The first thing I heard was a piercing scream.
“When I first went down there I thought it was a scuffle between two people, but as soon as we got there we realised it was more.
“I saw a man on the floor.
“We stayed down there for about half an hour until they put a cordon up, nobody could really believe it had happened.”
He added: “I walk my son to the nursery and back morning and evening, there’s lots of uniformed military about.
“They are among the most friendly people in the area.”
Alex continued: “His wife came out and was telling other squaddies to get out of their cars and help.
“She was frantically running around literally directing traffic, telling them to drive on the pavements so they can get to the scene.
“She was getting as many people to try and help her husband.”
The witness added the victim, who has not been identified, was said to have gone for a daily walk every evening.
Alex's dad Simon Reynolds, 66, an estate agent who is visiting from Majorca, Spain, said security guards from the barracks quickly arrived in the area.
He said: "There was a lot of screaming and the intensity of the screaming and carrying on I could tell it must be more than a normal domestic.
“I've never heard screaming like that. It wasn't people squabbling - someone was in terrible distress. It sounded like hell.
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“There was a lot of squabbling and people moving around and then people started gathering.
"I could hear a woman shouting 'call the police'. I wasn't sure whether it was his wife.
"The police arrived, first in one car beeping their horn a lot and then another car drove round him and rushed the attacker."
Simon added: "A guy from the barracks came up.
“He didn’t give a name but he said it was his boss and he was saying somebody had got a photograph and they were passing it round between them.”
The soldier was stabbed around 12 times with a 10 inch blade, another witness has claimed.
They told : “The attacker was going for him and stabbed him about 12 times.
“This was with two kitchen knives, about nine to 10 inches long, and there were about seven of us there who witnessed it.”
A woman living near the scene said she was sitting down to dinner with her family when they heard a "huge scream".
As they got to the window, she saw the attacker giving a final stab wound to a victim who was on the floor.
She could not see if the person was wearing a military uniform.
"It's very, very scary", she said.
A Kent Police statement on Wednesday said "a number of knives" had been seized after cordons were erected at the scene of the stabbing and where the suspect was arrested in Rochester.
The force also said the motivation for the attack is currently "unknown", though detectives are "exploring the possibility that it may be mental health-related".
The statement said: "A man remains in custody today following a serious assault on a soldier in Gillingham.
"There is an ongoing police presence in the town following the incident in Sally Port Gardens at around 5.55pm on Tuesday.
"Kent Police was called to reports a soldier in uniform, a man in his 40s, had suffered injuries consistent with stab wounds.
"He was taken to a hospital for treatment and his condition is currently described as serious but stable.
"The suspect, a 24-year-old local man, is reported to have left the scene on a motorcycle and at approximately 6.30pm was located and arrested in Mooring Road, Rochester.
"Cordons have been set up at both the scene of the incident and the scene of the arrest, and a number of knives have been seized."
Acting Chief Superintendent Richard Woolley, of Kent Police, added: "‘This was an upsetting incident for all concerned and our best wishes go to the victim, his family and those who witnessed the incident.
"Residents will experience an increased police presence in the Gillingham area and I would like to reassure everyone that officers responded quickly to take a man into custody and we do not currently believe anyone else was involved.
"The motivation for the attack is currently unknown and forms part of our ongoing enquiries, although we are exploring the possibility that it may be mental health-related.
"We are also investigating any possible links between the location and the suspect.
"There is no further information at this time to suggest there are any wider threats to the local community including members of the armed forces."
Brompton Barracks, which is home to the Royal School of Military Engineering, was said to have been placed into 'lockdown' by Army chiefs.
It is understood squaddies on-site were told in a tannoy message that they must assemble in buildings on site and could not leave "for any reason until authorised".
They were also instructed to use ID badges to access the meeting point.
Soldiers were said to have been held for more than 30 minutes while cops ensured there was no active threat before being allowed to return to their quarters and homes.
An Army spokesperson said: "We're very sorry to confirm that a soldier has sustained serious injuries in an attack in Chatham, Kent.
"Our thoughts are with the soldier and their family and we request that their privacy is respected at this difficult time.
"We will continue to work with Kent Police to understand what happened and support the investigation.
"Anyone who witnessed the attack or who has any relevant information should contact Kent Police."
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, today Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: "I am shocked and appalled by the news that a soldier has been attacked in Kent.
"All our thoughts are with the soldier, his family and our Armed Forces community, who serve to keep all of us safe. I wish him a swift recovery."
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, has called the stabbing “shocking and appalling”.
The Labour MP for Pontefract, Castleford & Knottingley wrote on X: “The stabbing of a soldier in Kent last night is shocking and appalling. All our thoughts are with the soldier & his family. I am receiving updates from Kent Police.”
The stabbing is “shocking”, Defence Secretary John Healey said, adding: “On behalf of the Government, I wish him a swift recovery.”
General Sir Roly Walker, Chief of the General Staff, said the attack on an Army officer in Kent on Tuesday was "horrific and unprovoked".
In a post on X, he said: "I am deeply saddened by the horrific and unprovoked attack on an officer yesterday. Our Armed Forces make extraordinary sacrifices to defend our nation and deserve to be respected.
"My thoughts and best wishes are with him and his family. They have the full support of the chain of command as they recover from this horrendous incident."
MP for Huntingdon and former British Army officer Ben Obese-Jecty said on X: "Shocked to hear of this horrific attack on an off-duty soldier in uniform outside Brompton Barracks in Kent.
"Our service personnel should be able to be in public in uniform without fear of being viciously attacked.
"My thoughts are with the critically injured serviceman."
Councillor Vince Maple, leader of Medway Council, said: “Our thoughts are with the individual involved and his family at this time.
"Our Armed Forces personnel and their families are a valued part of our Medway community.
"It is good to see increased patrols at this time by Kent Police for community reassurance.
"I would encourage anyone who has information that may assist the police with their enquiries to please come forward.”
It comes 11 years after Rigby was horrifically murdered by two Islamic terrorists in May 2013.
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Off-duty Lee, 25, was mown down and killed in the street with knives and meat cleavers by ISIS extremists Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale in a terror atrocity.
He was walking home to his barracks in broad daylight when his killers – both later sentenced to life - struck.
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