Four arrested over hammer attack in London hotel

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/apr/09/four-arrested-london-hammer-attack

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Four people have been arrested after three wealthy tourists were bludgeoned by a hammer-wielding attacker who sneaked into their hotel room in the middle of the night.

The attack in a room on the seventh floor of the four-star Cumberland Hotel near Marble Arch in the West End of London occurred early on Sunday. When one of the women woke, the intruder attacked her with the hammer, then turned on the two others, fleeing the hotel in bloodstained clothes.

One woman is in a critical condition and the other two remain in hospital, although their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

A Metropolitan police spokesman said three men, aged 56, 34 and 32, were arrested at addresses in Islington, north London, on suspicion of attempted murder. A 31-year-old woman was held on suspicion of handling stolen goods. All four remain in custody at north London police stations.

It is understood that the three women, who are all from the United Arab Emirates, had deliberately left their door unlocked because they were staying in the hotel as part of a large family group.

They were sleeping with three children, who were unharmed, in two adjoining rooms.

The Cumberland hotel is near Europe's busiest shopping street, Oxford Street, and has 1,000 rooms.