West Midlands Police have arrested a male on suspicion of murder and seven counts of attempted murder after eight people were stabbed in Birmingham.
The suspect was detained by armed officers at an address in Selly Oak at around 04:00 hours this morning.
Detectives had been working through the night to catch the man suspected of the vicious and violent attacks which led to the death of one male and several others being seriously injured.
The 27-year-old male remains in police custody for questioning over the attacks which have shocked the nation.
The incident unfolded in the early hours of Sunday morning after multiple victims were stabbed in what police believe to be a random attack.
One of the victims, a 23-year-old male, suffered fatal injuries in Irving Street after the knifeman stabbed him.
A man and a woman, aged 19 and 32, suffered severe stab wounds and remain in hospital in a critical condition. Five other people, aged between 23 and 33, were less seriously hurt.
The first attack happened in Constitution Hill, followed by further stabbings in Livery Street, Irving Street and finally Hurst Street.
The West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) said that it received multiple calls to three locations over a period of one hour and 20 minutes.
The initial 999 call was to the junction of Colmore Row/Livery Street at 12:40 am with other incident sites at Irving Street (01:52 hours) and Hurst Street (02:00 hours).
A total of 14 emergency ambulances were sent to the various scenes with eleven paramedic officers, the Hazardous Area Response Team (HART), four critical care teams with doctors and critical care paramedics.
A team of St John Ambulance volunteers at the SafeSpace project at the Arcadian were also involved in treating casualties and conveyed one of the patients.
Assistant Chief Ambulance Officer, Nathan Hudson, said:
“This was clearly a very serious situation with a large number of patients, some with very serious injuries.
“My thoughts are with the families of those hurt, particularly of the man who tragically lost his life.
“I must pay tribute to the ambulance staff who worked so hard at the scene and en-route to hospital, to help each of the patients hurt.
“We train for incidents like this on a regular basis which meant that we were able to get a large number of ambulance resources into the scene very rapidly so that patients got the care they needed as quickly as possible.”
Birmingham Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Steve Graham, said:
“Officers worked through yesterday and into the early hours of this morning in a bid to trace the man we believe responsible for these terrible crimes.
“We issued CCTV footage of the suspect and had a strong response from the public. I’d like to thank everyone who shared our appeal and who provided information to the investigation.
“One line of enquiry ultimately led us to an address in the Selly Oak area this morning where a man was arrested.
“Clearly, this is a crucial development, but our investigation continues.
“We still need to speak to any witnesses who saw what happened who’ve not yet spoken to us, or anyone who may have video footage or photos of the incidents or the attacker.
“We have a hotline number and a dedicated web page where you can submit information, photos and videos.”
A Hotline has been set up for anyone with info. Please call 0800 056 0944.
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