Authorities found an elderly woman dead and decapitated in a garden in north London on Thursday, though police do not believe the incident is related to terrorism.

An 82-year-old woman, identified as Palmira Silva, was found dead in a garden in the suburban town of Edmonton after residents in the area reported a machete-wielding man who had been attacking neighborhood domestic animals on Nightingale Road.

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Police have not confirmed if the woman, who was believed to be of Italian descent, died due to being beheaded by a 25-year-old man taken into custody who is suspected to be her assailant.

While officers are working on apprehending the attacker, residents in the street were advised to leave their homes and find a safer place to stay for the meantime.

The suspect did not surrender to authorities peacefully as police needed to use a stun gun to subdue him. Reports indicate that one of the responding officers suffered a broken wrist from the encounter.

Witnesses confirm that the man had been the reportedly attacking cats and dogs in the area using his machete.

The nature of the incident brought about speculations of possible terrorism in the area related to the gruesome murder of a British soldier last year and the Islamic State jihadists' public execution of several U.S. journalists.

However, authorities don't believe the incidents to be connected.

"While it is too early to speculate on what the motive behind this attack was I am confident, based on the information currently available to me, that it is not terrorist related," Scotland Yard's Detective Chief Inspector John Sandlin stated.

Thought the attack was made during broad daylight and was highly visible, Sandlin expressed his confidence that no one was helping the perpetrator commit such crimes.

Prior to the encounter, two other people were attacked in the same area but were able to escape their assailant unscathed.

TagsLondon, Decapitated, Edmonton, ISIS, machete, beheading