A shocking video shows the moment an Islamic extremist stabbed a store clerk and a customer at a busy Marks & Spencer.
Munawar Hussain, 59, faces life in prison after he stabbed Samatha Worthington, 41, in the neck and chased her through the Burnley store before attacking customer Janet Dell and stabbing her in the arm, he was told to the jury.
The footage shows Hussain entering the store before chasing the women through the product aisles as they slip on their own blood.
The December 2020 attack was only brought to an end by an “incredible stroke of luck” when Hussain’s sword broke after it got caught in the bag strap of his second victim as he tried to stab her in the back.
Having lost the knife, the video shows Hussain running away, but a store detective chased him out of the store, confronted him and apprehended him nearby.
Manchester Crown Court previously heard how Samantha Worthington (pictured) was stabbed near her jugular vein by Munawar Hussain, 59, before he chased her through the store in Burnley, Lancashire, in December 2020.
Munawar Hussain, 59, entering Marks & Spencer where he would stab two women in an extremist attack.
The extremist was found guilty on Friday of attempting to murder store manager Samantha Worthington, 41, and intentionally wounding customer Janet Dell by a jury at Manchester Crown Court.
Judge Nicholas Dean KC said: “An offense arising from claims that Israel was committing atrocities against Muslims, and a retribution attack for that, at face value, is precisely the definition of a terrorist offence.”
He deferred sentencing until May for reporting. Attempted murder carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
The women’s lives were saved when the knife Hussain carried into the attack broke after getting caught in a bag strap.
Hussain flees the scene of the jihadist-inspired attack in December 2020 after stabbing the two women at the Burnley M&S.
Although the attacker fled, he was pursued by a store detective, who caught him and dragged him back to wait for police.
Hussain, who attacked the M&S branch in Burnley, Lancashire, on December 2, 2020, told police he wanted to die a martyr’s death and was inspired by Usman Khan, the terrorist who stabbed two Cambridge graduates to death in a prisoner rehabilitation conference at Fishmongers’ Hall on London Bridge in 2019.
The stabber was found with a note, written in Urdu, which read: ‘Oh Israel, you are inflicting atrocities on the Palestinians and Marks Spencer is helping you financially.’
Testifying, Hussain said that he believed in supporting jihad and had launched the attack so that “Allah be happy with me.”
He initially said that he intended to kill his victims, and if the knife had not broken, he would have attacked more people, but later claimed that he only intended to hurt the women.
Ms Worthington, stabbed near her jugular vein, told the court she vowed to live for her three children after she was stabbed.
Hussain was arrested near the scene (he is pictured being taken away by officers) and found guilty of attempted murder and wounding with intent.
She told police: ‘He looked like a normal customer.
“Next thing I knew I was like, ‘He’s stabbed me,’ like a big punch. His eyes looked pure evil.
She was taken to Royal Preston Hospital, where she suffered a collapsed lung and spent two days in intensive care.
Mrs. Dell, who was doing her Christmas shopping, tried to escape after being stabbed, but slipped on her own blood and when she got up, Hussain tried to stab her again in the back.
“I thought he was going to kill me, he was going to stab me and I couldn’t speak, the words wouldn’t come out,” he told police.
He suffered two stab wounds to his left forearm that caused a fracture in the shaft of his left radius and damage to the tendon of his left thumb.
Police cars invaded the streets surrounding the store following the double stabbing in December 2020.
The shooter then fled the store, pursued by store detective James Brayford, who, aided by members of the public, apprehended him and took him back to the store to wait for police.
Hussain said he bought a knife a few days before the attack, but his wife had hidden it, so he took a kitchen knife from their home in Burnley, which was “too flimsy”.
The defendant had a history of bipolar disorder but was taking his medication and was able to understand and control his actions, the court heard.
Although no extremist material was found in his home, Hussain said he believed what he was doing was jihad.
In an interview with police, he said he believed he was doing “something honorable, something to be proud of” and that he might end up a “martyr” if he was shot.
