An American spy stabbed during an alleged terrorist incident in the UK was known to her attacker, a report in domestic media has claimed.
A female American spy who was stabbed in a leisure centre car park in Cheltenham, England, was reportedly known by her attacker, local media has now reported.
Police have charged the 29-year-old man arrested in relation to the incident with attempted murder and causing actual bodily harm, and he appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
According to a report by The Telegraph, the still unnamed female victim of the attack has now been confirmed to be an agent for the American National Security Agency (NSA) who is said to have been working at the nearby Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) office in Cheltenham, England.
Both of the agencies the victim is said to have worked with play a major role in terror prevention in their respective countries, with an investigation into alleged terror motives reportedly being launched once the identity of the victim was understood by police. It is reported that terrorism or the victim’s spy work is not necessarily seen as a motivating factor now, although the investigation is ongoing
The woman is said to have been stabbed after a gym session at the leisure centre last week, with law enforcement arresting the attacker, now known to be Joshua Bowles, soon after.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court has since court heard that Bowles allegedly punched and stabbed the victim multiple times, with the accused also having allegedly punched another man who tried to intervene during the attack.
Police have once again confirmed that they believe the attack on the woman to be an “isolated incident”, with there being no indication of a wider threat to the local community.
Officials said criminal proceedings were now underway, and that the accused is entitled to a fair trial.
“We would encourage people not to speculate on the specific circumstances surrounding this incident,” Det. Ch. Supt. Olly Wright, head of Counter Terrorism Policing South East, remarked regarding the event.