One child was killed and several other people were hospitalised after a man with a sword went on a stabbing spree in northeast London early on Tuesday morning, the authorities said.

The child, a 14-year-old boy, died after being taken to a hospital, Stuart Bell, chief superintendent of the Metropolitan Police, said in a news conference on Tuesday afternoon. (The police initially said the child was 13 before later correcting his age.)

The stabbing spree left four others injured, Bell said, including two police officers. All four remain hospitalised, he said.

Just before 7am (local time) the police received reports of a vehicle being driven into a house and multiple people being stabbed in Hainault, a neighbourhood in northeast London, according to a statement from the police.

Video of the incident circulating on social media showed a man wearing a yellow sweatshirt wielding a large sword in the middle of several houses in the neighbourhood.

The suspect, who has not been named, went on to attack more members of the public and two police officers, the police said. A 36-year-old man was arrested at the scene.

Ade Adelekan, the deputy assistant commissioner for the Metropolitan Police, said there was no ongoing threat to the community and that the incident did not appear to be terror-related.

London mayor Sadiq Khan said in a statement that he was devastated by the news and that additional patrols would be added to the area.

“The police officers and emergency s ervices showed the best of our city — running toward danger to protect others and I thank them from the bottom of my heart,” he said.

Home secretary James Cleverly said on social media that he was being regularly updated about the incident.

New York Times News Service