Two students and a man in his 50s were stabbed to death in Nottingham, central England, on Tuesday in separate but linked attacks according to police, who have arrested a man on suspicion of murder.
An important security device remained deployed Tuesday evening in this locality of 320,000 inhabitants located nearly 200 kilometers north of London, in shock after the events that took place in several separate places during the night.
Nottinghamshire police told a press conference on Tuesday evening that they arrested a 31-year-old man for murder. “We are not looking for anyone else” and “no other arrests have taken place,” said Kate Meynell, Nottinghamshire police chief, recalling that the investigation was only in its infancy.
“The police were called just after 4 a.m. after they were told that two 19-year-olds had been stabbed,” Ms Meynell said, adding that a third victim, a man in his 50s years, had “also been found dead from stab wounds”.
If the events of the night have not been declared to be of a terrorist nature, the anti-terrorist forces are participating in the investigation “as is normally the case in this type of circumstance”, the police had specified earlier.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described these events on Twitter as “shocking”, saying “to be kept informed of developments” in the investigation.
“We share the pain of our British friends and we stand by their side,” reacted French President Emmanuel Macron.
Police say they were called to a downtown street where the two 19-year-old victims were found dead. She was then called to another location “where the driver of a stolen van had tried to run over three people”, seriously injuring one.
In addition, “a man in his fifties was also found dead” in another street, added Ms. Meynell. “As of now, we believe the suspect stole this man’s vehicle” before attempting to run over the others.
The two 19-year-olds killed were students at the University of Nottingham, the university said, saying it was “shocked and devastated by the news”.
Lynn Haggit, a passer-by on her way to work, said she saw a van hit two people around 05:30 (0430 GMT) near the Theater Royal.
The driver “looked in the mirror, saw the police behind him and sped up. There were two people and he drove straight at them,” she told the BBC.
A white van with a damaged Vauxhall brand windscreen was found about a kilometer from the city center and was being searched by police, an AFP photographer noted. A black backpack was on the ground.
Several witnesses told British media that they saw the police extract a man from the vehicle.
“I heard a police car go by, it was driving really fast, followed by another, then another. It continued like that and I knew something serious (…) had happened” , testified Glen Gretton, a resident, to the British press agency PA.
A large police presence has been deployed in the city center. Fire trucks, as well as liaison officers responsible for coordinating the work of several emergency services are also present.
MPs from three Nottingham constituencies expressed their “shock” in a joint statement posted on Twitter, and expressed their condolences to the families of the victims.
“Our city is devastated by the deaths of three people this morning. Nottingham is a beautiful city, home to great people from all walks of life,” they said.
06/13/2023 20:29:01 – Nottingham (United Kingdom) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP