This isn’t straightforward though, on either side.
On the one hand it absolutely isn’t unreasonable to suggest that it was likely terrorism when two men are arrested and it is initially reported that counter terrorist police are involved. That of course was later confirmed not to be the case, but we live in a 24 hour communication age, where people have access to, and communicate via various social media channels where, whether we like it or not, news spreads. And so people will talk between news broadcasts.
The Racist element is aside from that, but the fact that there have been multiple incidents over the years all of which have involved perpetrators of different races is going to mean people will automatically conclude that it was someone from a different race. Once it was confirmed not to be a racist incident any reference to race, immigration etc should have ceased. At that point it was irrelevant.
However, it is also unreasonable to automatically jumpy to the conclusion that this must be down to inadequate mental health provision and essentially turn this man into a victim.
No. No-one who goes round stabbing people is mentally normal. But that’s not the same as mentally ill.
only the trial will tell the facts, and as things currently stand, he hasn’t been detained under the mental health act, he has been arrested, and charged with attempted murder.
Also the police are now looking into whether he may have been involved in an attack on a boy the day before, which, given everyone else is adding their own speculations, just points to him being a horrible violent person.
We need to stop automatically attributing race here or in any such crimes.
But we also need to stop just assuming it must be mental health reasons and essentially giving the man an out.