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A massive manhunt is underway for a man who dropped a knife and committed a 90-minute rampage in Birmingham city center overnight, killing one man and wounding seven others.
West Midlands Police declared a major incident after receiving reports of a stabbing just after midnight Sunday, before they received more calls of further attacks.
Detectives are now rushing to catch a suspicious man who managed to evade capture last night, with “significant resources” now deployed, senior police officers said.
Since then, police have released CCTV footage of a man they want to speak to in connection with the stabbings.
West Midlands Police Chief Superintendent Steve Graham said the incidents appeared to be “random”, with “no suggestion” that the evening’s events were terrorism-related.
He said: “A man has died tragically.
“Another man and woman have suffered serious injuries and five others have also been injured, although their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.”
In images released by police, a man is shown wearing a dark-colored visor hat and a hooded sweatshirt with a white lace-up closure.
Also wearing dark colored pants and shoes, he can be seen standing and walking in a corner.
Force police and crime commissioner David Jamieson called the assaults “disturbing”, with the violence involved as revelers enjoyed the night.
Speaking at a press conference at the force’s headquarters, just yards from where the initial attacks unfolded, Graham said there was also nothing to suggest it was a hate crime or gang violence related. from the city.
He also moved to end speculation that the violence was related to people “fighting over tables.”
All my thoughts are with those affected by the terrible incident that occurred last night in Birmingham.
My thanks to the emergency services who are working hard on site. Anyone with information should contact @WMPolice
– Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) September 6, 2020
On Twitter, Prime Minister Boris Johnson thanked the emergency services.
He tweeted: “All my thoughts are with those affected by the terrible incident in Birmingham last night.”
Interior Minister Priti Patel also said that “all her thoughts” were with those affected by the “shocking incident” in the city.
Eyewitnesses
Savvas Sfrantzis, owner of the Mykonos bar and grill on Hurst Street, said he witnessed a woman being repeatedly stabbed across the street after her screams alerted him.
Said, “I looked at him, right in front of him, and I can see he had a blade, small, not very big, and he was stabbing her in the neck.”
He described how the attacker was “so cold”, walking away calmly and “smiling”, while other employees of the bar tried to bravely follow him.
David Nash, a bar manager at The Village Inn, The Nightingale Inn and The Loft Lounge, said he approached within 10 meters of a hooded suspect seen fleeing the scene of the stabbing on Hurst Street.
He said: “I was on the street around 2.20am and we heard someone yelling on the street ‘stop him, he just stabbed someone’.
“Initially it was a guy in a black hoodie with the hood pulled up over his head, walking relatively casually.
“As soon as someone yelled ‘stop him’, he ran off into the Sherlock Street area.”
Nash said the person was “calm” and was walking slowly, until someone yelled the alarm.
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