Birmingham, several people stabbed in the night: “One dead and 7 injured.” Chancellor: “It is not terrorism”

Violent night to Birmingham, British city northwest of London – where several fights and stabbings occurred after midnight: a person died and 7 others were injured. This was announced by the police, indicating that two people are in “Serious conditions“There are no details yet on the motive and dynamics: investigators have so far spoken of” a single suspect “, still on the run, and have excluded both. terrorist trail than homophobic or racial hate crime. In a tweet, the prime minister Boris johnson said he was “close to everyone involved in terrible accidentAnd he praised all the “emergency services” for the quick reaction.

The police speak of a “serious situation ” and Superintendent Steve Graham spoke of “various fights” that took place in the heart of the city’s nightlife “between midnight and 2:30 am.” He then announced that an urgent investigation has been launched and that there is a “link” between the various attacks: a single person responsible for the stabbings and that the attacks would have been “random”. The chancellor and number 2 of the British government of Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab, wanted to reassure that he had no “information” on any terrorist hypothesis behind the stabbings, confirming however that it was a “very serious” episode and inviting citizens to “watch” and avoid the area. The homophobic track is also excluded for the moment, although some of the victims were at the premises of the Gay town.

The Police have specified that they do not want to disseminate data of the people involved, or images from CCTV cameras for now the necessary confidentiality “in the initial stages of the investigation”. Instead, it was released an appeal to all witnesses and those who have filmed scenes of violence to “not be afraid” to appear with the investigators.

Reconstruction of events – The night of violence was divided into at least four different moments: a first stabbing was reported – said the detective superintendent – shortly after midnight in the Snow Hill area, followed by a confrontation between two groups of young people in the Arcadian Center (an area that includes nightclubs, restaurants and pubs) and other attacks between “Livery Street, Irving Street and Hurst Street”, in the center from the city. “We can confirm that around midnight and a half today they called us a stab in the center of Birmingham ”, a post posted on Twitter from the West Midlands police account reads:“ We arrived immediately, along with our colleagues from the ambulance service. Shortly after they were informed other stabbings in the area. We are aware of a series of wounded, but at the moment we cannot say how many or how serious. However, all emergency services are working together on the scene, ensuring that the injured receive medical attention.

And witness – A witness He told the Bbc it was a maxi fight exploded in the nightlife area. Cara, this is the name of the woman who works at the Arcadian Center club, she explained that she had seen “more people fight.” She had finished her shift and was drinking with her colleagues when she heard a “loud roar and a lot of commotion. I saw more people arguing. People from pubs and clubs came out and began to see what was going on. There were women, men, old people, young people, such a mix of people, it didn’t feel real at the time. Working in clubs, I’ve always seen a lot of fights, but never like tonight. The amount of things I heard happened tonight in the space of three hours -he added-, with the stabbings, car setbacks and many other things it’s a great shock to me. ” The Arcadian Center is an area of ​​restaurants, bars, cafes, clubs and hotels. With a central open-air plaza, it is close to the Chinatown and Gay Quarter areas of the city. The witness, a promoter of several clubs, said the bars were full and it appeared to be the busiest night since the coronavirus lockdown restrictions were lifted. When many now they were drunk “tensions have started to rise”. Other witnesses cited by the tabloid Mirror reported seeing a very seriously injured woman in Birmingham and two people who “Stabs in the neck.”

Footage broadcast by British television news channels shows large areas of central Birmingham being recorded as police officers in forensic suits operate at the scene to conduct surveys. “Work is still being done to establish what happened, and it may be some time before we can confirm anything, “added the police in another tweet. “At this initial stage it would not be appropriate to speculate on the causes of what happened.” A video is also circulating on social media showing a man blocked by police with guns in hand, but it is unclear if the arrest is related to the stabbings.

#TO UPDATE | We can confirm that at approximately 12:30 am today we were called to receive reports of a stabbing in #Birmingham city ​​center.

We attended immediately, together with colleagues from the ambulance service. Shortly after, several other stabbings were reported in the area.

– West Midlands Police (@WMPolice) September 6, 2020