(UnHerd) Like a still from a cheap horror flick, Michael Adebolajo stands with a meat cleaver and a large knife clasped in one hand. His free hand, saturated in blood, is raised towards the camera. Together with his accomplice and fellow convert Michael Adebowale, he has just murdered off-duty Fusilier Lee Rigby. Ten years ago today, this grisly scene on the streets of Woolwich was splashed across almost every newspaper front page. It is one of the most sensational — and complained about — images in the history of both the British media and the fight against terror.
The scene painted by the footage is both horrifyingly perplexing and peculiarly British. The sky is overcast. No one seems to be running or screaming, or trying to confront and overpower the killers. A consolatory moment is provided by the “Angel of Woolwich,” the woman who calmly conversed with and challenged the killers before taking off to catch her bus. In the background, there is a bundle in the middle of the road. It is the body of Lee Rigby.
