London Bridge inquest: Nurse asked knifeman, 'what's wrong with you?'

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Helen Kennett
Image caption,

Helen Kennett said she spoke to a knifeman with "evil" in his eyes after he stabbed a waiter

An off-duty nurse asked one of the London Bridge attackers what was wrong with him before he stabbed her in the neck, an inquest has heard.

Helen Kennett told the Old Bailey she was trying to help Alexandre Pigeard, who was fatally wounded, when she was confronted by his "evil-eyed" attacker.

When she spoke to him, he replied, "no, what's wrong with you?" before wounding her too.

Eight people were killed in the attacks on the night of 3 June 2017.

"I was convinced I was going to die but I didn't want to die there," Ms Kennett told the court.

"I wanted to die round the corner with my family."

'Soulless and evil'

Ms Kennett had been drinking prosecco to celebrate her birthday with her mother and sister in the courtyard of Boro Bistro, at the southern end of London Bridge.

Minutes after she saw the attackers' van plough into railings above where they were sitting, she noticed a waiter, Mr Pigeard, was bleeding.

She told the court she then saw the man holding a knife behind Mr Pigeard, describing him as having an "empty", "soulless" and "evil" look in his eyes.

"Before I could process what I was seeing was happening... he stabbed me in the neck to the left side," she said.

Image source, Family Handout
Image caption,

Alexandre Pigeard had been working as a waiter

Although she escaped with her family, she did not get to an ambulance for two hours, the inquest heard.

Mr Pigeard, 26, died of his injuries.

Eight people, including Mr Pigeard, who were killed by three men who drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed people in and around Borough Market.

Image source, Press Association
Image caption,

The victims of the attack clockwise from top left - Chrissy Archibald, James McMullan, Alexandre Pigeard, Sébastien Bélanger, Ignacio Echeverria, Xavier Thomas, Sara Zelenak, Kirsty Boden

Another witness told the court he believed the man who killed Mr Pigeard was Rachid Redouane.

Geoffrey Huet said he locked eyes with the attacker as he dealt what looked like the fatal blow to Mr Pigeard.

"He had this craziness in his eyes, this anger. He was furious," Mr Huet added.

The witness ran away and tried to get help, the court heard.

Redouane, 30, was shot dead by police minutes later, alongside his accomplices Khuram Butt and Youssef Zaghba.

'I'm going to die'

Another witness told the court she too saw Mr Pigeard being wounded as she celebrated a friend's birthday.

Andzelika Abokaityte said in a statement read to the court that she watched as the "evil and smiling" attacker grabbed hold of Mr Pigeard before stabbing him from behind.

"As he was stabbed, the attacker was looking around as if to find the next person to stab."

"I remember thinking: 'I'm going to die'", the court heard.

The inquests continue.