Manchester Arena terrorist 'grinned' before melted butter attack on female guard (2025)

Hashem Abedi, 28, is understood to have stockpiled sachets of butter at HMP Frankland, County Durham, before melting them down and throwing the hot cooking oil over a female prison officer

Manchester Arena bomber Hashem Abedi was “silent and grinning” while he scalded three officers before stabbing them with a homemade weapon.

Two officers sustained life-threatening injuries after Abedi attacked them at HMP Frankland in County Durham on Saturday (April 12). The prisoner allegedly hoarded sachets of butter before melting them down to scald the guards and then stab them after they were ambushed in the kitchen of a separation unit.

One of the officer’s partners said on social media his family had suffered “the worst day of our lives”. She added: “Thank you to all the people with well wishes of love.” A source said yesterday: “Abedi was completely silent and grinning as he carried out the attack.

“There is no doubt he wanted to kill and it is miraculous they all survived. But he was acting like a silent assassin.”

Speaking to the Sun, a source said: “This is a terrorist attack in a prison, not just an assault. It was extremely serious and clearly pre-meditated and planned.”

The incident has drawn the attention of counter-terrorism authorities and the Ministry of Justice. Fortunately, the injured female officer was able to leave the hospital by 4pm on Saturday.

Her two male colleagues – one in his 30s and the other close to 60 – sustained "severe stab wounds" and are currently hospitalised and are stabilising, according to Mark Fairhurst, the national chairman of the POA, on Sunday.

The older officer sustained a slash across the neck and the younger one was stabbed five times in the back, resulting in a punctured lung.

The source also shed light on Abedi's preparation for the attack: "Prison staff think Abedi collected loads of sachets of butter or margarine, hid them and used dozens to make the hot oil.

"They don't give out bottles of olive oil as it's dangerous, but they also don't monitor how many little sachets of butter you take. The attack came totally out of the blue and he first threw the boiling substance over the female officer then stabbed the two guys."

The aftermath of the assault sent shockwaves through the prison: "All hell broke loose. The guy stabbed in the neck was walking down a corridor and holding his wound, with blood pouring out. He was particularly lucky to survive.

"Other officers raced to the scene and helped the injured guys while a riot team formed outside. Luckily the men responded well to treatment and both are talking. After the attack, Abedi was restrained by the response team. He stayed totally calm throughout and is obviously unhinged."

Abedi is thought to have been moved to a different prison, as evidenced by a white van seen departing from Frankland at 5.45pm on Sunday. The 28-year-old is currently serving a minimum of 55 years behind bars for assisting his brother Salman, a suicide bomber, in planning the 2017 attack at an Ariana Grande concert held at Manchester Arena, which resulted in 22 deaths and more than 1,000 injuries.