Attempted murder arrest after man 'slashed' at leisure centre

The victim, aged in his 20s was "slashed with a bladed weapon" inside David Lloyd leisure centre off Speke Road

A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a man was slashed in the face in what police believe was a targeted attack at a leisure centre.

The victim, aged in his 20s, was "slashed with a bladed weapon" inside David Lloyd leisure centre off Speke Road in Liverpool, Merseyside Police said.

Emergency services attended and he was taken to hospital shortly after18:00 BST.

A man was arrested shortly afterwards and taken into custody for questioning, the force added.

One leisure centre member said she was on her way to a pilates class when she heard a message over the speaker system telling people to leave the building.

"A member of staff came up shouting at everyone get off the stairs. They told us to go in the yoga room and I locked the door," she said.

"I looked around the room and realised my stepdaughter wasn't there and I just felt sick.

"I rang her and she was in the gym so I told her to come to the yoga room and locked the door again."

'Close to home'

She said the group was escorted out by the police via the leisure centre's reception.

"The place was full of families, there were loads of kids in the cafe having their tea. It's too close to home, especially with everything that's happened recently."

Chief Inspector Neal Arrowsmith said: “We are in the very early stages of investigating this incident as we look to establish the full circumstances of what happened.

“Although initial inquiries are still being carried out, we believe this was a targeted attack.

“To attack someone in such a violent manner is shocking and thankfully officers were able to quickly detain a suspect."

Appealing for witnesses, the officer added: “The leisure centre would have been busy at the time of the incident, so if you witnessed what happened please come forward.

"We still need anyone with information to let us know as soon possible to assist our ongoing inquiries."