An Australian girl who was stabbed in Leicester Square earlier this month has been granted her wish to watch Taylor Swift perform at Wembley Stadium – find out more below.
On August 12, 11-year-old Laila Johnson became the victim of a stabbing while visiting Leicester Square with her mother. The pair were reportedly “approached” by 32-year-old Ioan Pintaru, when he grabbed the child and proceeded to stab her eight times around face, shoulder, wrist and neck area in what has been described as a “random attack”.
Pintaru — a Romanian citizen of no fixed address — was last week charged with attempted murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place.
Speaking to Australian news outlet 7news, Laila Johnson’s mother Samantha revealed that they had been visiting London on holiday, and that Laila “dreamed” of watching Taylor Swift performing at Wembley. After the stabbing, Laila was hospitalised and treated with plastic surgery for her serious but non-lethal injuries.
A week after the ordeal, after recovering from most of her injuries, Laila and her mother were treated to VIP tickets to see Taylor perform, where they were escorted by two police officers.
Laila recalled attending the concert to the Australian Daily Telegraph: “I had to get to the Taylor Swift concert. It was amazing. Some people organised for us to go into a VIP box and there was food being served and a private toilet, which was very exciting.” She added: “I’ve met so many lovely people, especially in the hospital and the police who have been looking after me. They’ve just been so lovely.”
The Johnsons have since returned home to Australia on Sunday (August 18).
Laila Johnson is just one of many Taylor Swift fans – known as Swifties – who have been targetted for acts of violence in recent weeks. On July 29, three children were killed in a knife attack that took place at a Swift-themed dance and yoga workshop on Hart Street. As reported by Sky News, three of the victims – six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar – have sadly passed.
A 17-year-old has been charged with the murders of the three children. Swift has since met with some of the survivors of the Southport stabbing attack at one of her ‘Eras’ tour shows at Wembley Stadium.
Then earlier this month, all three of the pop star’s ‘Eras Tour’ shows in Vienna were cancelled after it was revealed that two people had been arrested for allegedly plotting a terror attack during the gigs. The singer was set to play at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday (August 8), Friday (9) and Saturday (10), but event organiser Barracuda Music confirmed that it had “no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety”.
Swift has since commented on the foiled terror plot, and Coldplay’s Chris Martin and singer Maggie Rogers covered Taylor’s ‘Love Story’ for the Swifties in attendance at their recent concert in Vienna.