LONDON, Sept 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A knifeman who killed one man and wounded seven other people in a two-hour stabbing rampage across Birmingham city centre is being hunted by police.
The first stabbing was in Constitution Hill at 00:30 BST then the killer moved south, apparently attacking at random, officers said.
The stabbings did not appear terrorism related, gang related or connected to disorder, West Midlands Police said.
Murder inquiry detectives said they were hunting a single suspect.
The force urged anyone with CCTV or mobile footage to contact them.
One man died, another man and a woman suffered critical injuries and five other people were left with non-life-threatening injuries.
Ch Supt Steve Graham said the attacker went on to stab people in Livery Street, Irving Street and finally in Hurst Street, where the city’s Gay Village meets the Chinese Quarter, at about 02:20 BST.
Police said there was no evidence the stabbings were a hate crime.
A woman who was out celebrating her 29th birthday described how she helped another woman who was “on the street bleeding heavily”.
Nikita Denton, of Edgbaston, said: “My best friend Jay held her head and talked her through everything the whole time and wouldn’t leave her side.
“She looked very dazed and confused, she couldn’t talk. But she was talking to my friend with blinks.”
Ch Supt Graham said officers – some armed – remained across the city centre to reassure people.
He added they had received a number of descriptions of the suspect but would not be releasing any details for the time being.
He said: “The events during the early hours of this morning are tragic, shocking and understandably frightening.
“It does appear to be a random attack because we haven’t found any links between the victims, either in their nature or in where they were socialising.
Savvas Sfrantzis, who was working nearby, said he saw a man stab a girl multiple times but people thought at first he was trying to take her necklace.
“He was like very cold and he wasn’t panicking and he wasn’t reacting or anything. After he stabbed her between five and seven times… he walked off as if nothing has happened,” he said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson thanked emergency services “working hard at the scene”.
He tweeted: “All my thoughts are with those affected by the terrible incident in Birmingham last night.”
Outside the cordoned-off area, much of the city centre, such as Birmingham’s Bullring shopping centre and the Sealife Centre in Brindleyplace, is open as usual. — NNN-AGENCIES
