Manchester Arndale stabbings: As it happened

Summary

Five injured after stabbings at Manchester's Arndale Centre
Man in his 40s arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences
PM Boris Johnson says "my thoughts are with the injured"
Shopping centre evacuated and local trams suspended
Centre expected to remain closed until Saturday

Live Reporting

Dulcie Lee and Richard Turner

Arndale Centre stabbings: Woman narrowly escapes knife attackerpublished at 13:48 British Summer Time 11 October 2019
Freddie Houlder was in a shoe shop in the Manchester Arndale Centre when the attacker came past.
A woman who came into the shop told him the attacker had attempted to stab her. He described what happened:
Image source, @GrizzleMarine
Image caption,
Police were seen running through the Arndale Centre
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I was buying a pair of shoes. I didn’t actually see the suspect.
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We heard screams maybe 15 metres to the left of the shop. A woman just after the screams ran into the shop as we were closing the door.
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This guy apparently tried to stab her. Luckily the knife grazed her jacket so she didn’t get hurt. This guy had tried to stab her.
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About 20 minutes later the police evacuated the shop.
Prime Minister 'shocked' by Manchester Arndale stabbingspublished at 13:44 British Summer Time 11 October 2019
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he is "shocked" by the stabbings at Manchester Arndale Centre which have left five people injured.
He tweeted this a short time ago.
Image source, Reuters
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Arndale Centre stabbings: Armed police at scenepublished at 13:25 British Summer Time 11 October 2019
Dozens of armed police are at Manchester Arndale Centre after five people were stabbed earlier.
A man in his 40s has been arrested.
Image source, PA
Image source, PA
Image source, PA
The shopping centre has been evacuated.
Police said there had been no reports of fatalities and counter-terror officers were leading the investigation but "keeping an open mind".
Trams are no longer stopping at Exchange Square.
Arndale Centre stabbing: Taser police arrest suspectpublished at 13:12 British Summer Time 11 October 2019
Police have arrested a man in his 40s following a number of stabbings at Manchester Arndale Centre.
Emergency services received reports of people being stabbed at 11:17 this morning.
A photo has emerged of a suspect being detained on Corporation Street outside Selfridges.
Five people have been injured but there have been no fatalities, said police
Image source, Unknown
Image caption,
The suspect was Tasered by police
Social media posts have shown a large number of officers at the scene and the suspect being Tasered.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said:
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We can confirm that five people have been stabbed and taken to hospital.
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In these early stages, we are keeping an open mind about the motivation of this terrible incident and the circumstances as we know them.
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Given the location of the incident and its nature officers from Counter Terrorism Police North West are leading the investigation as we determine the circumstances.
Arndale Centre evacuated following 'serious incident'published at 13:06 British Summer Time 11 October 2019
The Arndale Centre in Manchester has been evacuated while police investigate "a serious incident", the Centre Director David Allinson has confirmed.
It's now known that five people have been stabbed.
Police said there had been no reports of fatalities and counter-terror officers were leading the investigation but "keeping an open mind".
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A serious incident has taken place at Manchester Arndale this morning.
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The centre has been evacuated while police investigate the incident.
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We are unable to comment any further as the incident is currently being handled by Greater Manchester Police, who we will continue to support with their investigation.
Arndale Centre stabbing: Man stabbing at 'random', says witnesspublished at 12:57 British Summer Time 11 October 2019
Witnesses have been describing the scene in Manchester city centre after multiple stabbings in the Arndale Centre.
Image source, PA Media
Freddie Houlder, 22, from Market Drayton, was in the Arndale Centre when he heard "a load of screams just outside" the shop he was in.
He said a woman then came into the shop and told others "a guy just ran past the shop and tried to stab me".
Mr Houlder added: "Luckily she had quite a thick jacket - she thought originally it was a fake knife because of how easily it grazed off but police came in and said it was a real knife and she burst into tears."
He said he was evacuated several minutes later at which point he saw "a bunch of curtains covering someone seriously injured or dead, I don't know".
"I definitely don't think it was gang violence because this guy was going around trying to stab random people, I believe."
Multiple stabbings at Manchester Arndale Centrepublished at 12:49 British Summer Time 11 October 2019
This was the scene earlier as police were called after reports of several stabbings at the Arndale Centre in Manchester.
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Arndale stabbings: Investigation led by Counter Terrorism Policepublished at 12:47 British Summer Time 11 October 2019
Breaking
Greater Manchester Police have just released this statement:
Specialist officers are continuing to respond to an incident at the Arndale shopping centre in Manchester city centre.
We can confirm that five people have been stabbed and taken to hospital.
In these early stages we are keeping an open mind about the motivation of this terrible incident and the circumstances as we know them.
Given the location of the incident and its nature officers from Counter Terrorism Police North West are leading the investigation as we determine the circumstances.
A man in his 40s – who was arrested at the scene on suspicion of serious assault – remains in custody for questioning.
Four injured in Arndale Centre stabbingspublished at 12:43 British Summer Time 11 October 2019
Four people are being treated for injuries after a number of stabbings at the Arndale Centre in Manchester.
Image source, Dave Hardy
Trams have also stopped operating at Exchange Square, according to the city's Metrolink.
One man has been arrested after being Tasered.
Manchester Arndale stabbings: Centre evacuatedpublished at 12:41 British Summer Time 11 October 2019
The Arndale Centre in Manchester City Centre has been evacuated after reports of a multiple stabbing.
North West Ambulance Service say they are treating four people, but we have no details of the injuries.
One man has been arrested by police after being Tasered.
Image source, @xkimdunnell
Manchester Arndale stabbings: What we know so farpublished at 12:40 British Summer Time 11 October 2019
There are reports of a number of people being stabbed at the Arndale Centre in Manchester.
North West Ambulance Service said it was called at 11:17 this morning.
Paramedics are treating four people. One man in his 40s has been arrested.
The Arndale has been evacuated as police deal with the incident.