A man who violently attacked three passengers with a hammer on the London Underground has been jailed. Jamal Walker, 19, was sentenced to twelve years in prison on Tuesday.
Jamal Walker, 19, appeared at Southwark Crown Court on 6 May where he pleaded guilty to three counts of grievous bodily harm (GBH) and possession of an offensive weapon.
What happened?
On Thursday 29 October 2020, Walker boarded a Southbound Victoria Line train at Walthamstow Central.
The court heard he took the hammer from his bag, before launching a vicious and sustained attack on two men. He hit one over the head repeatedly with the hammer and attempted to strike the other.
Walker then left the train at Seven Sisters, encountering his third victim who was stood waiting to board. He struck him across the head with the hammer. Then he returned to the train and chased his first two victims through the carriage.
Walker then discarded the hammer and a screwdriver on the platform on his way out.
The first victim suffered lacerations and a fractured skull, spending ten days in hospital. The third victim also received treatment in hospital for a head wound. The second victim suffered minor injuries which did not require hospital treatment.
A man who violently attacked three passengers with a hammer in a shocking and unprovoked attack on the Underground has been jailed.
Jamal Walker, 19, couldn’t give any explanation for the senseless assault other than he was “stressed” during the day.
???? https://t.co/y56xtTkIEP pic.twitter.com/F899WrilU6
— British Transport Police (@BTP) June 24, 2021
Police arrested Walker at his home address a week later. He was identified after a forensic inquiry on a carton of apple juice he left at the scene, along with the discarded weapons.
Walker didn’t give any explanation for his actions other than that he was “stressed” during the day.
Police response
Detective Inspector Gary Pinner said: “This was one of the most shocking and senseless acts of violence I have come across in my entire career. It was inflicted on three innocent men without any provocation.
“Walker is clearly an incredibly dangerous individual, and it is only through luck that his victims weren’t more seriously injured.
“While this was a truly horrifying experience for them, I’d like to reassure the public that incidents like this are thankfully extremely rare on the railway network.
“We are also lucky that it was a CCTV-rich environment which captured the incident in its entirety. The CCTV proved invaluable in helping to bring Walker to justice. I am relieved to know he’ll now be spending the foreseeable future behind bars.”
