Four people have been arrested by detectives investigating a hammer attack on three Emirati sisters in their London hotel room.
The three men and a woman were arrested at homes in Islington in north London on Tuesday night.
The men, aged 56, 34 and 32, are in custody on suspicion of attempted murder. A woman aged 31 has been detained on suspicion of handling stolen goods.
Police in England can usually hold suspects for 24 hours, after which they must be charged or released. However, in cases of serious crime such as attempted murder, officers can apply to a judge for permission to keep people in custody for up to 96 hours.
Khuloud Al Najjar, 36, and her sisters Ohoud, 34, and Fatima, 31, were attacked in their room on the seventh floor of the Cumberland Hotel in central London early on Sunday by a man wielding a hammer.
Three children aged 7 to 12 were asleep in an adjoining room when the attack took place between 1am and 2am. They were unharmed.
Police said the women were attacked after they awoke and disturbed the intruder. Detectives found a hammer at the scene.
Khuloud remains in a critical condition in hospital. Her sisters have serious but not life-threatening injuries.
Police said the door to the women’s room was unlocked and not forced open.
“We think someone forgot because other family members were in and out of the room, it was an oversight,” said a police spokeswoman.
The Guoman Hotels group, which operates the Cumberland Hotel, said the door to the room had been left ajar.
“The room doors have the latest security locks and a chain, but this door was open, it was left ajar by the people staying in the room,” a spokesman said. “The internal lock was in use so the door couldn’t be closed.”
Asked if the hotel planned to screen entry of guests, particularly at night, he said their security procedures were not under question.
“Our security has not been compromised, this is not an issue of our security.”
rtalwar@thenational.ae
