Bradford stabbing: Religious leader backs city to heal from killing

Reverend Duncan Milwain said Bradford has "huge resilience"

A religious leader from Bradford has backed the "city of hope and faith" to recover from the killing of Kulsuma Akter.

Ms Akter, 27, was fatally stabbed in the city centre as she pushed her baby son in a pram on Saturday afternoon.

Habibur Masum, 25, was arrested on suspicion of murder in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, on Tuesday morning.

Reverend Duncan Milwain from Bradford Cathedral said the incident was "not reflective of Bradford".

Bradford Cathedral is one of several religious centres in the city which have been opened to allow people to grieve and pray.

Mr Milwain, the cathedral's assistant curate, said people were "processing a whole variety of emotions".

"For some people there will be anger at what has happened."

Mr Masum was bailed by magistrates in November after being charged with assaulting and threatening to kill Ms Akter, offences which he denied.

Habibur Masum, 25, has been arrested

Both offences were alleged to have happened in Manchester.

Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police have both confirmed they have referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) as they had previous contact with the victim.

"What we want to do is to recognise this as an isolated incident, albeit a completely tragic one and a desperate one for that poor child," said Mr Milwain.

"But it's not reflective of Bradford as a whole."

Ms Akter's young son was unharmed in the stabbing.

Mr Milwain described Bradford as a "city of hope and faith", adding: "It's such a city of huge resilience, it has encountered many unfortunate and sad events in the past and it's picked itself up, dusted itself off and carried on being that place of hope.

"We can pray that protection and support is given to that young child and that we can absorb that and move forwards."

Police said on Monday they had also arrested a 23-year-old man in Cheshire on suspicion of assisting an offender in relation to Ms Akter's killing.

He remained in custody on Wednesday morning, a West Yorkshire Police spokesperson confirmed.