“Fortunately members of the public intervened, which prevented any further injury being made to the child,” Burns said.
The girl’s mother was not wounded, though she initially appeared to be because she was covered in her daughter’s blood, police said.
Pintaru, a Romanian citizen, also faces a knife charge.
He appeared at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court wearing a grey tracksuit and spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth.
Pintaru was not asked to enter any pleas and was remanded in custody ahead of his next court hearing at the Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, on Sep 10.
The stabbing occurred during a recent rise in knife crime in Britain, which is on edge after days of violence as crowds spouting anti-immigrant and Islamophobic slogans clashed with police in dozens of cities and towns.
The disturbances were fueled by far-right activists, who used social media to spread misinformation about a mass stabbing in Southport, northwest England, that killed three girls during a Taylor Swift-themed dance event.
Source: CNA
