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Manchester Arndale stabbings: Man detained under Mental Health Act Manchester Arndale stabbings: Praise for people who 'intervened' in attack
(about 7 hours later)
A man arrested on suspicion of terror offences after three people were stabbed in Manchester has been detained under the Mental Health Act. A Manchester Arndale worker and a member of the public have been praised for helping to stop a suspect who stabbed three people.
A man walked into the city's Arndale Centre at 11:15 BST on Friday and began attacking shoppers. A man "lunged" at people in the shopping centre on Friday and attacked a 19-year-old woman, a man in his 50s and another woman, who are in hospital.
Three people were stabbed and two others were hurt when a man with a large knife started "lunging" at people, according to police. Two others were hurt, but none of the injuries are thought to be life-threatening.
None of the injuries was thought to be life-threatening. The suspect has been detained under the Mental Health Act.
A man in his 50s, a 19-year-old woman and another woman were rushed to hospital with stab wounds. Witnesses said people were "screaming and running" as they evacuated the centre after a man started to attack shoppers with a large knife.
Two unarmed police community support officers attempted to confront the assailant who chased them as they called for urgent assistance. Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson, from Greater Manchester Police, said: "We know that at least one member of staff from the Arndale and a member of the public intervened in the attack and we would like to praise and thank them for their bravery."
Witnesses described a scene of horror as shoppers sought refuge in stores. At a press conference earlier, police revealed they had searched a property in the city where the suspect lived.
Within five minutes, the knifeman was challenged and detained by armed officers in nearby Corporation Street at the side of Marks & Spencer. Officers said they were trying to establish if he had any political, religious or ideological motivation for the attack, although nothing has so far has come to light.
A 40-year-old man from the Manchester area was arrested on suspicion of assault and then re-arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of an act of terrorism. The 40-year-old man, from Manchester, was initially arrested on suspicion of assault and then re-arrested on suspicion of terror offences before he was detained under the Mental Health Act.
Police later said he was detained under the Mental Health Act following an assessment "by specialist doctors". Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said officials were keeping an "open mind".
Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "We do not know the motivation for this terrible attack. It appears random, is certainly brutal and of course extremely frightening for anyone who witnessed it. "It's important not to jump to any conclusions although what I can say is that, at this stage, it would appear to be more mental-health related than political or religiously motivated.
"At this time we do not believe that there is anyone else involved in this attack but we will be constantly keeping this under review. He said the attack appeared to be "an isolated incident" and urged people to "go about their weekend" as they had planned.
"We have specially trained officers supporting those injured from the attack. The shopping centre, which is close to the arena where a terror attack killed 22 people in 2017, re-opened for business on Saturday.
"We'll have increased patrols, including armed patrols, in the city centre this weekend." Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, said: "Every time we have had an incident of this sort in the city, Manchester shows its resilience, its ability to come together and its determination to get on with business - to get on with life - and that's what we see today."
He appealed for anyone who was in the Arndale at the time to send any images or footage taken from the scene via the force's website. Mr Burnham added the attack highlighted "the debate about knife crime" and he would ask police to consider "more use of stop-and-search powers but in a way that is intelligence-led, non-discriminatory".
"Like other cities in the UK, in the past few years, Greater Manchester has seen an increase but… we actually recorded a significant fall over summer 2019 and that was, in part, due to a more targeted use of stop-and-search powers.
The force has appealed for anyone who was in the Arndale at the time to send images or footage via its website.