Ricky Morgan guilty of ‘Terminator’ tube attack
‘Terminator’ Tube attacker who caused stampede when he pulled out machete and began hacking at commuter while telling others ‘I only want him’ is convicted of attempted murder
Ricky Morgan, 34, said he only wanted to attack James Porritt on the tubeFearful commuters fell over as they tried to escape the machete attackerMorgan denied attempted murder by reason of insanity at the Old Bailey He was found guilty by a jury following some two days of deliberation
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A ‘Terminator’ Tube attacker has been found guilty of hacking at a commuter with a machete.
Panicked passengers toppled over each other as they fled through carriages when Ricky Morgan launched an unprovoked attack on James Porritt, the Old Bailey heard.
Morgan, 34, was heard to tell horrified onlookers: ‘This is not a terror attack, I only want him.’
Mr Porritt, who suffered a severe injury to his hand, told jurors it was like a ‘horror movie’ and the Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi film Terminator.
This is the moment Terminator tube attacker Ricky Morgan, pictured, was arrested by armed police at Green Park station last summer
Ricky Morgan, 34, slashed James Porritt, in his 30s, on the Jubilee Line between Green Park and Bond Street on 9 July last year. Pictured: Police at the time
James Porritt, pictured, told the Old Bailey he thought he was going to die during the attack
Morgan denied attempted murder on grounds of insanity but was found guilty by a jury at the Old Bailey after two days of deliberations.
He was also convicted of possessing a machete and a lock knife.
Prosecutor Grace Ong had told jurors that Mr Porritt and Morgan were complete strangers.
She said: ‘This was, the prosecution say, a completely unprovoked attack on a commuter on the Jubilee line going about his daily business.’
On the evening of July 9 last year, Mr Porritt, a self-employed businessman, had visited a gym and was on his way to meet his girlfriend and her father in west London.
He got on a north-bound train at Westminster before Morgan produced the machete and a lock knife from his rucksack near Green Park.
In a video interview played in court, Mr Porritt described minding his own business and being in a ‘bubble’ as he sat in the carriage.
He was looking at his phone and feeling nervous about the family meeting when he heard a scream.
The next thing he knew was the defendant hitting him over the head, the court was told.
He put his hand up to protect himself during the onslaught, the jury heard.
Describing the attack, he said: ‘I was pleading ‘Please stop, please stop’.
Mr Morgan, of no fixed address, denied attempted murder and possessing a machete and lock knife at Green Park on July 9 last year. Pictured: Police at the time
‘I was in shock, it was like a horror movie. I genuinely thought he was going to kill me.’
Mr Porritt said he did not feel anything but saw the blood as Morgan smashed an object over his head.
He said: ‘He was just hitting me. It did not make sense. I didn’t understand why this guy was hitting me. There was no confrontation. There was no issue, it was just bang, (he) started hitting me.
‘He was like a machine. It was like that movie Terminator.
‘He was emotionless. He did not seem to have any kind of compassion. But it seemed very focused and relentless and he was just hellbent on doing what he was doing.
‘He was like on a mission. He kept hitting my shin and I genuinely thought I was going to die.
‘I’ve got nothing left now. I don’t know how I escaped. I was scared I was going to lose my little finger and I held it together.
‘I just knew, fight or flight. I just ran for my life. It was like a stampede, people were terrified.’
Morgan pursued him and lunged the ‘huge’ blade through the window of the connecting carriage door, Mr Porritt said.
Pointing with the knife through the door, Morgan said: ‘I don’t want anyone else, I just want him,’ the court heard.
Mr Porritt described the machete as like something out of Arabian Nights.
He added: ‘It was just like he was a predator and he was hunting, and he decided he was hunting me.’
Mr Porritt said it was ‘so surreal’ to be targeted by a stranger on a rush-hour train.
James Porritt was treated at the scene after suffering shocking injuries in the attack
‘He just would not stop. He was relentless. He said he did not want anybody else, he just wanted me. He was fixated with me,’ Mr Porritt said.
He managed to get away and through a carriage door, while holding the severed parts of his hand together.
People were screaming but they could not hold Morgan off, and Mr Porritt added: ‘It was just terrifying.’
As well as the severe injury to his right hand, Mr Porritt suffered bone-deep cuts to his head and shin, jurors were told.
According to witnesses, passengers got up and screamed when the attacker started waving the knife around.
Many tried to run away but in the panic ended up piled on the floor, the court heard.
One witness said the attacker let out an ‘unholy scream’ as he hit out with the machete.
The court was told the defendant denied responsibility for the attack by reason of insanity. Pictured: Armed police in Bond Street
He was heard to say: ‘This is not a terrorist attack, I only want him.
‘I don’t want to kill you, I want to kill him, he was trying to kill me.’
Another passenger bravely tried to engage with Morgan and told him to ‘calm down’, the court heard.
Meanwhile, a doctor who happened to be on the train gave Mr Porritt first aid.
On being confronted by police, Morgan dropped the blade, put his hands up and got on the floor.
He told officers it was ‘a road issue’ not a ‘terrorist attack’, adding: ‘If I had known it would cause this much drama I would not have done it.’
Morgan was to tell a psychiatrist he had been carrying the machete and lock knife around for some time.
He also had an almost empty bottle of vodka in his rucksack, the court heard.
Morgan, of no fixed address, declined to give evidence in court.
Forensic psychologist Dr Frank Farnham said Morgan had a ‘troubled childhood’ having been taken into foster care between the ages of 12 and 16.
Morgan told Dr Farnham that he first took cannabis when he was 12 and this increased his paranoia.
He also had a history of cocaine use, taking crack from the age of 20.
Dr Farnham said Morgan ‘probably has a personality disorder’, adding:
‘Heavy drinking, lockdown, isolation…are all important things that led to an acute mental crisis’, said Dr Farnham.
Morgan told Dr Farnham that he ‘slept with the machete’ and he barricaded himself in his room six weeks before he was arrested as he was ‘fearful for his life.’
He started ‘hearing the voices of people I don’t get along with,’ the psychiatric said.
Before the Tube attack Morgan claimed he heard two people saying ‘he’s clocked us’, and heard the victim say, ‘don’t worry, we’ll do him now’ and ‘give it 20 seconds’.
Morgan told Dr Farnham: ‘People started calling me a terrorist, that really offended me. I thought I was being kidnapped.’
He also thought the police were going to execute him for being a terrorist.
Dr Farnham said he believed Morgan was suffering from schizophrenia which would diminish his responsibility for the attack.
Detective Sergeant Nick Thompson, of the Major, Serious and Organised crime team at British Transport Police, said: ‘This was a brutal and unprovoked attack. The two men had never spoken, never met, and had never crossed paths until that day.
‘Clearly it was terrifying situation for the victim, he was able to escape but this attack and the injuries he suffered continues to have a substantial impact on his life.
‘BTP firearms officers were soon at the scene, Morgan was subdued and taken into custody. He is evidently a danger to the public and the jury saw fit to ensure he faces consequences equal to the severity of this attack.’
Mr Porritt said after the conviction: ‘This trial has been another significant part of my healing process, since the attack on the 9th of July 2021.
‘The events that took place on the Jubilee line train during rush hour have changed my family, my girlfriend’s and my life forever; as well as every single person who witnessed the attack on the train that evening.
A map showing the distance between Bond Street and Green Park Tube Stations in London
‘It’s been a long and traumatic road that I have had to travel. I am still in the process of recovery. Until I reach that destination, it’s a road I continue to walk.
‘The scars from this attack on my legs, elbow, arm, face/head and my entire right hand will remain with me for the rest of my life. My surgeon is unable to determine if I will ever regain the full use of my right, dominant hand.’
Mr Porritt said he was indebted to his loved ones and friends for being a ‘pillar of strength’ and thanked police.
He added: ‘I would also like to thank all the other passengers who were on the train with me, for coming forward and giving evidence.
‘My thoughts have been with you all, in your recovery from what you witnessed and experienced on that traumatic evening.’
Morgan was remanded in custody until his sentence at the Old Bailey on July 22.
