Counter terror police are patrolling the streets of Nottingham today after three people died and three were injured in a ‘knife’ and van rampage.
The trio of attacks began at 4am when a witness heard a young woman crying for help before seeing a black-clad attacker with a rucksack stabbing her and a young man on Ilkeston Road. Police arrived minutes later and found two people dead.
Today, heavily armed counter terrorist specialist firearms officers (CTSFOs) set up two cordons on the street and were seen raiding a house. The officers – who are trained especially for terrorist incidents – left a short time later.
After the first attack early this morning, police were then called to another incident on Milton Street, where a van tried to run over three people who are now being treated in hospital.
Witness Lynn Haggitt described seeing a man in a white van at around 5.30am near the Theatre Royal. She said the man looked in his mirror and see a police car behind him, before ‘quickening up’ and slamming into two people.
At 5.40am on Bentinck Road, witness Kane Brady told GB News he was awoken by ‘what sounded like gunshots’ and saw a person tasered, dragged out of a van and arrested. A 31-year-old man was arrested on Bentinck Road suspicion of murder and officers are linking the three deaths.
A man was also found dead on Magdala Road. A resident said he was woken at about 5.10am by the sound of a woman ‘screaming’, which he believes was the moment the body was discovered. Police have so far only confirmed the timing of the first incident and have not yet said if the attack was terror related.
A specialist Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officer on patrol on Ilkeston Road in Nottingham today
The officers are the best trained in the UK and specialise on terrorism
The officers were seen raiding a house before leaving a short time later
Officers are seen pinning a man down on a pavement in Nottingham today. Three people have been killed in the city, police said
The city centre remains locked down this afternoon, with dozens of squad cars, fire engines and ambulances on the scene.
Police have cordoned off around 400 yards of the scene at Ilkeston Road with tape, and what appeared to be medical kit was scattered across the road.
Two forensic officers arrived and appeared to dedicate the majority of their time at a bathroom and plumbing business called Willbond.
The area around a white Vauxhall Vivaro van in Bentinck Road has also been cordoned-off.
The van has been left short distance from the pavement with its passenger door open and what looks like a black bag on the road near the door.
A witness told the BBC he saw a young man and young woman being stabbed on Ilkeston Road, close to the junction with Bright Street in Nottingham, at around 4am.
The man, who did not give his name, said he heard ‘awful, blood-curdling screams’ and looked out his window to see a ‘black guy dressed all in black with a hood and rucksack grappling with some people’.
He told the broadcaster: ‘She was screaming ‘Help!’ I just wish I’d shouted something out of the window to unnerve the assailant.
‘I saw him stab the lad first and then the woman. It was repeated stabbing – four or five times. The lad collapsed in the middle of the road.
‘The girl stumbled towards a house and didn’t move.
‘The next minute she had disappeared down the side of a house, and that’s where they found her.
‘I’d say it all happened within five or six minutes.
‘The attacker then just walked off up Ilkeston Road towards town, as calm as anything.’
The man said he called the police who arrived within five minutes, before paramedics tried to revive the pair for 40 minutes.
Witness Lynn Haggitt told Channel 4 News she saw a van hitting two people on Milton Street near the Theatre Royal at around 5.30am.
‘At half past five I saw a van pull up at the side of me,’ she said. ‘It was white, all white. There was a police car behind it coming up slowly, no flashing lights.
‘The man in the driver’s seat looked in his mirror and saw the police car behind him.’
A photo of a Vauxhall Vivaro van on Bentinck Road in Nottingham today. There are dents in the bonnet and cracks in the windscreen
A police forensic officer takes a photo of the scene on Magdala Road, where a man was found dead
Police on Ilkeston Road in Nottingham as inquiries continue today
A cordon surrounded the Vauxhall Vivaro van in Bentinck Road, Nottingham, today. A rucksack can be seen on the tarmac by the open door
The van has been left short distance from the pavement with its passenger door open and what looks like a black bag on the road near the door
Viewed from the other side of the cordon, the van in Bentinck Road has clear damage to its bonnet and windscreen. There are two dents on the bonnet, just above the radiator grille, and two sets of corresponding cracks radiating out from two points on the windscreen
She said the white van then drove up to ‘the corner of the street and went into two people’.
‘The lady ended up on the curb, and then he backed up the white van and he went, speeded up Parliament Street with the police cars following him,’ Ms Haggitt added.
When asked if she thought the collision was deliberate, Ms Haggitt said: ‘I don’t think I should say that, but to me he went straight into them, he didn’t even bother to turn, just went back straight into them.’
When asked if the people hit were hurt badly, she said that a man appeared to have a head injury.
‘They did get him to his feet,’ she added, but said of the woman who was hit: ‘She was sitting up on the curb, to me she looked OK’.
‘I was there for 15 minutes and there was no ambulance. One of the policemen, I think, did first aid. He looked after a man on the floor.’
Ms Haggitt told BBC News she spotted the van while she was on her way to work.
‘He looked in his mirror, saw a police car behind him, he then quickened up, there were two people, two in the corner, he went straight into these two people.’
‘The woman went on the kerb, the man went up in the air, there was such a bang, I wish I never saw it, it’s really shaken me up. I went over, perhaps I shouldn’t have gone over but I wanted to see if I could help.
‘He (the van driver) backed up after he hit… and drove up Parliament Street.
‘The woman was sitting up on the kerb, she looked OK. The man was laying down, but then he got up, sat on the side waiting for an ambulance. I can’t believe he was able to get up after the head wound.’
Officers were called to Ilkeston Road west of the city centre just after 4am. Two people were found dead in the street
A forensic tent on Magdala Road, Nottingham, where a man was found dead
Forensics officers were later seen erecting a larger tent on Magdala Road
Another witness told Sky News she saw a man and woman hit by a van.
Frances, whose surname was not given, was on her way to work and was near Theatre Royal in the city centre when she saw the vehicle hit the two pedestrians.
She said: ‘There was a male and a female. The female, she could speak.
‘She was in pain from the impact from hitting the ground. She had hit her head but was still able to speak.
‘Then the gentleman as well took the full brunt of the van and he had head injuries but was still awake.
‘He didn’t lose consciousness, he was still awake at that stage.’
A witness on Bentinck Road told GB News he heard what sounded like gunshots before seeing armed police arresting a man after pulling him from a white van at around 5.30am.
A backpack and a very large knife were taken from the van and the man was resisting arrest, the witness said.
The man was wearing a hat and the witness, who did not want to be named, could not see his face.
Police cordoned off around 400 yards of the scene at Ilkeston Road with tape, and what appeared to be medical kit was scattered across the road
The forensic officers eventually left the scene on foot with a black crate and large plastic bag
‘We woke up this morning at about 5.30 in the morning to what sounded like gunshots and we rented a window and there was armed police running out of what looked like an undercover car,’ the witness said.
‘And then the suspect, whoever’s in the van is then tasered and dragged out by them and then they arrested him.
‘We didn’t actually see any gunshots or anything but it certainly sounded like them with the glass all smashed in the van… I didn’t see the person who it was but I saw them arrested from behind.’
He added: ‘We saw a man pinned down on the ground and multiple armed police surrounding him and then more armed police later turned up after that.’
One resident overlooking Magdala Road – where a man was found dead – said he was woken at about 5.10am or 5.20am by the ‘sound of a woman’s screams.’
The man, who asked not to be named, said: ‘I was worried it was the sound of someone being attacked but thinking about it now it may have been the person who came across the body.’
He said he later saw police and a sheet, probably covering a body, on the road outside the tennis club.
Magdala Road is in a leafy middle class area of Nottingham with large detached homes.
Armed police in Nottingham city centre, which was locked down this morning
Police forensics officers on Magdala Road, Nottingham, where a man was found dead
Medical equipment lies within a police cordon on Ilkeston Road, where two people were found dead. A resident said police were ‘banging on my door’ at 5am asking for any CCTV footage
Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: ‘This is an horrific and tragic incident which has claimed the lives of three people.
‘We believe these three incidents are all linked and we have a man in custody.
‘This investigation is at its early stages and a team of detectives is working to establish exactly what has happened.
‘We ask the public to be patient while inquiries continue. At this time, a number of roads in the city will remain closed as this investigation progresses.’
Six roads around the city and suburbs have been shut and tram services cancelled, while ambulances, fire engines and specialist officers dressed in body armour and helmets are on the scene.
They are National inter-agency liaison officers (NILO) – part of an elite force set up in the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing.
Police have said road closures will remain in place for ‘some time’ and vowed to release more information when they can.
Local resident Glen Gretton said he was woken up at around 5am morning by the sounds of a series of police cars passing his home.
The 46-year-old delivery driver, who lives in a flat in Mansfield Road in Sherwood, said: ‘I heard a police car go past.
‘It was driving extremely quickly, followed by another one, another one.
‘They just kept coming so I knew something quite major … was happening somewhere around the city centre.’
Rishi Sunak said he is being kept updated on the ‘shocking incident’ in Nottingham as police investigate, and he paid tribute to those who have lost their lives and their families.
Six roads are shut and tram services were cancelled as police locked down the entire city centre
National inter-agency liaison officers (NILO) on the scene in Nottingham city centre today
Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: ‘This is an horrific and tragic incident which has claimed the lives of three people. Pictured are officers at the scene
The Prime Minister tweeted: ‘I want to thank the police and emergency services for their ongoing response to the shocking incident in Nottingham this morning.
‘I am being kept updated on developments. The police must be given the time to undertake their work.
‘My thoughts are with those injured, and the family and loved ones of those who have lost their lives.’
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she is ‘shocked and saddened’ at the deaths in Nottingham and has spoken with the Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police.
She tweeted: ‘I am shocked & saddened that three people have lost their lives today in Nottingham. My thoughts are with those affected by this incident.
‘I have spoken to @nottspolice Chief Constable & am receiving regular updates. I am thankful to the emergency services for their response.’
The A6008 Upper Parliament Street is currently closed from the junction with Maid Marian Way, towards the Theatre Royal.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was being kept ‘updated’ on any developments
Ben Bradley, the leader of Nottingham city council, said his ‘thoughts’ were with everyone in the city
Robert Jenrick, a Home Office minister and the Conservative Member of Parliament for Newark, Nottinghamshire, shared his shock today
The A60 Mansfield Road is also closed between Woodborough Road, towards Mapperley and St Ann’s, and Shakespeare Street, near the Victoria Centre.
Milton Street, the street parallel to the main entrance to the shopping centre, and Burton Street are also closed in the city centre.
All tram services have been suspended, due to what has been described as a ‘major police incident, with tram tickets being accepted on buses.
Maples Street in Hyson Green is also shut, while the A609 Ilkeston Road is also closed in both directions, with slow traffic due to a police incident from Faraday Road to Bright Street. Magdala Road near Mapperley Park is also closed.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his thoughts were with the family and friends of those who had died and were injured in Nottingham.
He tweeted: ‘Awful news from Nottingham this morning. My thoughts are with the family and friends of those who have lost their lives, those injured, and the people of Nottingham.
‘Thank you to the police and the emergency services as they respond to this terrible incident.’
Officers guarding the cordon in Nottingham city centre this morning
National inter-agency liaison officers (NILO) on the scene in Nottingham
Robert Jenrick, a Home Office minister and the Conservative Member of Parliament for Newark, Nottinghamshire, tweeted: ‘I’m deeply grateful to @nottspolice and all those who responded to the terrible attack earlier today in Nottingham.
‘All of us in Nottinghamshire share a sense of shock. My thoughts and prayers are with those injured and with the family and friends of those killed.’
Nottingham’s three Labour MPs, Nadia Whittome, Lilian Greenwood and Alex Norris, said they were ‘shaken’ by the events in the city.
A joint statement posted on Twitter by Ms Whittome said: ‘Our city has been devastated by the deaths of three people this morning.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those who have died and those injured.
‘We are grateful for the efforts of the city’s emergency responders in tackling these incidents. They must be allowed to do their jobs in investigating them.
‘Nottingham is a beautiful city, home to brilliant people from all backgrounds.
‘We are shaken by today’s events but will meet them collectively as a community and heal together.’
Nottingham Forest Football Club also reacted to the incident, saying on Twitter: ‘We are devastated to learn the news of the horrific events that took place in Nottingham this morning.
‘The thoughts of everyone at #NFFC are with the friends and families of those who have tragically lost their lives and to everyone affected by this incident.’
Nottinghamshire Police said: ‘We ask the public to be patient while inquiries continue. At this time, a number of roads in the city will remain closed as this investigation progresses’
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue said: ‘We are currently in attendance at an incident in the city centre assisting @nottspolice
‘There has been disruption to @NETTram’s – keep updated on their social media for any changes throughout the day. We ask that people avoid the area.’
Nottingham City Transport said: ‘There is severe disruption and delay to services this morning because of a police incident in the City Centre, where Milton Street, part of Upper Parliament Street (Theatre Square – Maid Marian Way), Burton Street and part of Mansfield Road are closed.’
The Nottingham Open tennis tournament is currently underway in the city. The Lawn Tennis Association said it would continue as normal.
Victoria Centre, a shopping centre near to the cordoned area, remains open.
‘We are monitoring the ongoing situation in Nottingham city centre carefully and are continuing to liaise with Nottinghamshire Police,’ a spokesman said.
‘The centre does remain open, with some pedestrian and car park entrances affected by the police cordon. However, we are urging people to follow the advice of Nottinghamshire Police and to avoid the parts of the city centre that have been impacted.’
Police have asked witnesses, or anyone concerned about a family member or friend, to call 0800 0961011.
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