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Man arrested after three people killed in Nottingham Man arrested after three people killed in Nottingham
(about 2 hours later)
Police say 31-year-old held on suspicion of murder after deaths in city centre on Tuesday morningPolice say 31-year-old held on suspicion of murder after deaths in city centre on Tuesday morning
A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after three people were killed in Nottingham city centre, and a further three injured. Police were trying to establish the facts behind an early morning rampage across Nottingham, with stabbings and vehicle attacks leaving three people – including two students – dead and another three injured.
Two people were found dead in the street after one incident in Ilkeston Road and a third man was found dead in Magdala Road, Nottinghamshire police said. Another three people are in hospital after someone tried to run them over in a van in Milton Street, in what police believe was a connected incident. Counter-terrorism police were helping the investigation, which involved armed police raiding addresses hours after the attacks.
Police said a 31-year-old had been arrested on suspicion of murder, and they believed all three incidents were linked. A 31-year-old man was arrested next to a white van linked to the attacks, and was being held in custody on suspicion of murder.
Counter-terrorism police were understood to be assisting the investigation as detectives tried to understand what triggered the events. Regular police were still leading the investigation, many hours after the first attack, which took place shortly after 4am. Police said they were not looking for anyone else, and the drama that played out between 4am and 5.30am over about a mile saw the prime minister briefed about developments.
The three attacks have not been declared as a terrorist incident, with police urgently investigating the background of the man they have in custody as they try to determine a motive. Two people were found dead in the street at about 4am in Ilkeston Road and are believed by police to have been stabbed.
Police are trying to locate any phones or computers the suspect used, and examining their contents, in order to understand what happened. Nottingham university said they were their students and added: “It is with great sadness that we confirm the sudden and unexpected death of two of our students following a major incident in Nottingham city centre overnight.”
The incidents led to a massive police response, with cordons erected around Nottingham city centre and closures on the city’s tram network. A third man was found dead in Magdala Road, Nottinghamshire police said. Another three people are in hospital after someone tried to run them over in a van in Milton Street, near to Nottingham’s Theatre Royal, in what police believe was a connected incident.
Police believe the first two people they found at around 4am were stabbed. A witness also told the BBC they saw two people being attacked with a knife. Postmortems will determine the cause of death. One man was in critical condition with two others having suffered minor injuries, police said.
The sequence of the attacks, hours after they took place across an area of over a mile and a half, were unclear. Counter-terrorism police are assisting the investigation as detectives tried to understand what triggered the horrifying events. Regular police were still leading the investigation and keeping an open mind as to the motive or motives.
At some point a van was obtained by the suspect – believed not to be his – which was used to drive into three people. They were being treated in hospital, and a mile from that scene a white van was visible with dents to the bonnet and damage to its window. Police are trying to locate any phones or computers the suspect used, and examining their contents, in order to understand what happened and why.
Hours after the attacks armed police were involved in raids across the city as the police investigation chased down leads and hunted for evidence. The sequence of the attacks remains unclear.
In a statement, Nottinghamshire police said: “Police were called to Ilkeston Road just after 4am where two people were found dead in the street. Officers were then called to another incident in Milton Street where a van had attempted to run over three people. They are currently being treated in hospital. A man has also been found dead in Magdala Road. Police have arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of murder and he remains in police custody.” Police believe the first two people they found at about 4am were stabbed. A witness said they saw a young man and woman being attacked with a knife on Ilkeston Road, at about 4am.
Petra Gyuricska and her husband, Miklos Toldi, said they were among the first to discover the body of a man on Magdala Road at 5.30am. They were heading to Gyuricska’s workplace when they saw the man lying on his side outside Magdala tennis club. She said: “I was just leaving for work … my husband gave me a lift, and then we were leaving and we saw the body lying … on the floor, and then we saw the blood and I just told my husband to stop. The man, who did not give his name, told the BBC he had heard “awful, bloodcurdling screams” and saw a man “dressed all in black with a hood and rucksack grappling with some people”.
“I tried to call 999 but I couldn’t get connection. Someone else came as well – [in] another car – and he called.”Gyuricska said she believed the man was dead by the time they found him. She said: “We stayed … first a police car came, and then another two police cars came, and then an ambulance came. The police, they started CPR but it was too late. I mean, you could just see.”
The couple struggled to estimate the man’s age, but agreed he was probably older than 50 years, while Toldi said he was dressed in “working clothes” and Gyuricska described him as white.
A witness told the BBC he saw a young man and young woman being stabbed on Ilkeston Road, close to the junction with Bright Street in Nottingham, at about 4am. The man, who did not give his name, told the corporation he had heard “awful, bloodcurdling screams” and looked out 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. The lad collapsed in the middle of the road.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. 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 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 man said he called the police, who arrived within five minutes, before paramedics tried to revive the pair for 40 minutes. At some point a van is thought to have been obtained by the suspect – believed not to be his – which was used to drive into three people now being treated in hospital. A mile from the scene of the attack, a white van was visible with dents to the bonnet and damage to its window.
David Mellen, leader of the local council, told BBC Radio Nottingham that those struck by the van were “waiting at a bus stop early in the morning”.
Lynn Haggitt, a witness, told Channel 4 News she saw a van hitting two people in Nottingham. “At half past five 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.”Lynn Haggitt, a witness, told Channel 4 News she saw a van hitting two people in Nottingham. “At half past five 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 said the white van then drove up to “the corner of the street and went into two people”.She said the white van then drove up to “the corner of the street and went into two people”.
“The lady ended up on the kerb, and then he backed up the white van and he went, speeded up Parliament Street with the police cars following him,” she added.“The lady ended up on the kerb, and then he backed up the white van and he went, speeded up Parliament Street with the police cars following him,” she added.
When asked if the people hit were badly hurt, she said a man appeared to have a head injury. “They did get him to his feet,” she added, and said of the woman who was hit: “She was sitting up on the kerb, to me she looked OK.” Petra Gyuricska and her husband, Miklos Toldi, said they were among the first to discover the body of a man on Magdala Road at 5.30am. They were heading to Gyuricska’s workplace when they saw the man lying on his side outside Magdala tennis club. She said: “I was just leaving for work … my husband gave me a lift, and then we were leaving and we saw the body lying … on the floor, and then we saw the blood and I just told my husband to stop.
Nottinghamshire’s chief constable, Kate Meynell, said: “This is an horrific and tragic incident which has claimed the lives of three people. We believe these three incidents are all linked and we have a man in custody.” “I tried to call 999 but I couldn’t get connection. Someone else came as well – [in] another car – and he called.”Gyuricska said she believed the man was dead by the time they found him. She said: “We stayed … first a police car came, and then another two police cars came, and then an ambulance came. The police, they started CPR but it was too late. I mean, you could just see.”
Police said the roads that remained closed were Ilkeston Road, Milton Street, Magdala Road, Maples Street and Woodborough Road from the junction of Magdala Road into the city, as well as the Maid Marian Way junction of Parliament Street. Dimitrious Lawani, a witness to the arrest, said two officers were pulling a man and believed a Taser was also being pointed by other officers, and said he heard shouts of: “Get down, get out, stop fighting.”
Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, said: “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. My thoughts are with those injured, and the family and loved ones of those who have lost their lives.” The university’s students’ union said it would cancel Tuesday night’s graduation ball. In a statement, it said: “We stand in solidarity with all our students and the wider city, and our thoughts are with the families and friends of those harmed, alongside those directly and indirectly affected by the unfolding of these terrible events.
“In light of this, we have made the decision to cancel Grad Ball this evening.
“Attendees will be contacted in due course, but in the meantime we are continuing to work with the university and relevant authorities to understand the situation.”
Nottinghamshire’s 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 …
“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 …”
Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, said: “ I am being kept updated on developments. The police must be given the time to undertake their work. My thoughts are with those injured, and the family and loved ones of those who have lost their lives.”
Nottingham’s three Labour MPs, Nadia Whittome, Lilian Greenwood and Alex Norris, said they were “shaken” by the events in the city.Nottingham’s three Labour MPs, Nadia Whittome, Lilian Greenwood and Alex Norris, said they were “shaken” by the events in the city.
Emmanuel Macron has said France “shares the grief” with Britain after Tuesday’s attack in Nottingham and “stand by their side”.