Police have this afternoon issued an update after three people were found dead in Nottingham on Tuesday morning. Nottinghamshire Police said officers are keeping an 'open mind' as to the motive of the attacks, which have also left one man in a critical condition.
Officers were called to Ilkeston Road just after 4am after two people were killed. Witnesses on the road described seeing a man with a knife 'repeatedly' stabbing people as the horror unfolded. A third man was later found dead in Magdala Road.
The force was also called to another incident in Milton Street, where a van had attempted to run over three people. One man is in hospital in a critical condition, while two others are believed to have suffered minor injuries, Nottinghamshire Police said.
Join our WhatsApp Top Stories and Breaking News group by clicking this link
Residents in the area described seeing police taking a weapon out of a white van as well as a man 'wrestling' with officers as he was apprehended in the early hours of this morning.
Police confirmed they arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of murder and he remains in police custody. The force has now said that they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the attacks.
People are being told that it is safe to go into the city centre, but that several roads will remain cordoned off while investigations continue.
In a statement this afternoon, Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: “This is a tragic series of events which has led to the lives of three innocent people being taken and left another member of the public in a critical condition in hospital.
“My thoughts are with all the families affected by this shocking incident, and we will be working extremely hard to understand exactly what has happened.
“We are at the early stages of the investigation and need to determine the motives behind these attacks and will keep the public updated as soon as we are able to say more.
“We are keeping an open mind as we investigate the circumstances surrounding these incidents and are working alongside Counter Terrorism Policing to establish the facts – as we would normally do in these types of circumstances.
“We do have a man in custody who has been arrested on suspicion of murder. Currently, we do not believe there is anyone else involved in this incident.
“It is safe to go into the city centre but there are a number of streets that will remain closed including Ilkeston Road, Magdala Street, Milton Street and Maple Street. This is so officers can gather evidence in order to understand what has happened.”
A witness told the BBC he saw a young man and young woman being stabbed in Ilkeston Road, close to the junction with Bright Street. The man, who did not give his name, said he heard “awful, blood-curdling screams” and looked out of his window to see a “black guy dressed all in black with a hood and rucksack grappling with some people”.
He told the broadcaster: “She was screaming: ‘Help!’ I just wish I’d shouted something out of the window to unnerve the assailant. I saw him stab the lad first and then the woman. It was repeated stabbing – four or five times. The lad collapsed in the middle of the road.
“The girl stumbled towards a house and didn’t move. The next minute she had disappeared down the side of a house, and that’s where they found her. I’d say it all happened within five or six minutes. The attacker then just walked off up Ilkeston Road towards town, as calm as anything.”
Another witness, Lynn Haggitt, told Channel 4 News she saw two people who were hit by a van. “I saw a van pull up at the side of me,” she said. “It was white, all white. There was a police car behind it, coming up slowly, no flashing lights."
“The man in the driver’s seat looked in his mirror and saw the police car behind him," she told the broadcaster. She said the white van then drove up to “the corner of the street and went into two people”.
Kane Brady, a student at the University of Nottingham, told GB News he saw a knife being taken from a white van after a man was arrested outside his house on Maples Street. Mr Brady said: “We woke up to shouts of ‘armed police’ and what… sounded like some very loud noises, what sounded like gunshots – it was that loud."
He told the programme: “I looked out the bedroom window and saw Tasers. I saw a man being dragged out (of the van) and pinned to the floor. I saw him getting arrested, him trying to resist. I then later saw when they opened the van, I saw a large knife being pulled out and then straight away that’s when police closed off both roads, both Maples Street and Bentinck Road.”
Others living in Bentinck Road said they also saw police drag a man out of a white van at about 5.30am. Student Demi Ojolow said: “I just saw the police shouting at him to get out of the car and get on the floor. And they dragged him out of the car and he just fell on the floor. He was still pretty wrestling at the point. They dragged him away and that was about it.”
Prime minister Rishi Sunak said he is being kept updated on the “shocking incident”, and he paid tribute to the victims and their families. He tweeted: “I want to thank the police and emergency services for their ongoing response to the shocking incident in Nottingham this morning. I am being kept updated on developments. The police must be given the time to undertake their work."
He added: “My thoughts are with those injured, and the family and loved ones of those who have lost their lives.”
READ NEXT:
