A British police probe into a triple stabbing at a Manchester railway station on New Year’s Eve which injured three people is now being treated as “a terrorist investigation”, the city’s top officer said on Tuesday.
Counter-terrorism officials have arrested a man, who remains in police custody, on suspicion of attempted murder and are searching an address where he recently lived in the northwestern English city, Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said.
The suspect reportedly shouted “Allah” during what Mr Hopkins called a “horrific attack” on three people, including a police officer, at Manchester Victoria station in the northern British city on Monday evening.
“We are treating this as a terrorist investigation which is being led by counter-terrorism officers with support from Greater Manchester police,” Mr Hopkins told a briefing.
The British Transport Police officer was stabbed in the shoulder and a man and a woman, both in their 50s, were left with “serious injuries” in the attack at Manchester’s Victoria train station. The pair had abdominal wounds and the woman also had injuries to the face, police said overnight.
The incident happened at around 8:50 pm when many revellers in the city would have been enjoying New Year’s Eve celebrations.
Witness Sam Clack, 38, a BBC radio producer, described the attack. “I just heard this most blood-curdling scream and looked down the platform.
“He came towards me. I looked down and saw he had a kitchen knife with a black handle with a good 30-centimetre blade.
“It was just fear, pure fear.”
Mr Clack said police officers used a stun gun and pepper spray before, “six or seven” officers jumped on the man.
He said he heard the suspected knifeman shouting Islamic slogans during the attack.
He said the suspect had shouted: “As long as you keep bombing other countries, this sort of … [thing] is going to keep happening.”
A witness who gave her name as Rebekka told the UK’s Daily Mirror newspaper that she heard a scream and turned to see people running towards her.
“I jumped off the tram track [station] and started to run down the tram lines and hid behind some concrete slabs under one of the [railway] arches.
“I was just really scared, I didn’t know if I was going to die.”
Authorities declared the attack a “critical incident” and Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts said the investigation was being led by counter-terrorism police and all concerned were keeping an “open mind”.
“Tonight’s events will have understandably worried people but I need to stress that the incident is not ongoing, a man is in custody and there is currently no intelligence to suggest that there is any wider threat at this time,” he said.
The city’s New Year celebrations went ahead in the main Albert Square despite the incident, with a firework display taking place as planned, though increased security was brought in.
The city suffered a suicide attack in May 2017, when 22 people were killed and 139 wounded at a concert by the US singer Ariana Grande at the Manchester Arena.
The bomber, Salman Abedi, 22, was born and raised in Manchester.
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