Woman charged with attempted murder over UK knife attack

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British police have charged a 28-year-old woman with attempted murder after a daylight stabbing in a northern England town that sparked terrorism fears. The South Yorkshire Police force said Sunday that Ayaan Ali, of London, was also charged with affray and possession of an offensive weapon in connection with the assault Saturday in Barnsley.

She was arrested after witnesses reporting seeing a woman with a foot-long (30 centimeters) knife chasing pedestrians and shouting threats about killing people. One man received minor injuries.

Counterterrorism detectives initially supported the investigation, but Chief Superintendent Scott Green said Sunday that police can "confirm definitively that this was not an act of terrorism." He said inaccurate social-media speculation about multiple attackers "is creating a lot of fear and distress locally."

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