Police have launched a manhunt in Birmingham, England for a male suspect after multiple people in the city were stabbed in a series of related attacks during the early hours of Sunday morning.
A murder investigation has been launched after one man was killed and seven people were injured in the incidents in the city center.
The stabbings took place over a roughly two-hour stretch from 12.30 a.m. local to 2.30 a.m at several locations in central Birmingham on Constitution Hill, Livery Street, Irving Street and Hurst Street, West Midlands Police Chief Superintendent Steve Graham said. He added police are treating them as a “linked series.”
Graham added that police had not identified find a particular motive at this stage but said the violence did “appear to be random in terms of the selection of the people who were attacked.”
“It does appear to be a random attack as we haven’t found any links between the victims,” he said.
Graham told a news conference on Sunday morning there was no suggestion the incident was motivated by hate.
“[There is] absolutely no suggestion at all that this is terror related,” he said. Graham also ruled out gang links.
“At this stage there is no suggestion that gangs were involved. The people who are victims of this attack are not connected with gangs,” he said.
Two people remain in a critical condition in hospital, Graham added.
Police will review CCTV footage and will make a public appeal to anyone who was in the area at the time for information. No arrests have yet been made.
A woman named Cara who was working in Birmingham’s city center said she saw a brawl in the Arcadian club area late on Saturday night. The police press conference Sunday did not mention any violence at the club area as a factor in the stabbings.
“All my thoughts are with those affected by the terrible incident in Birmingham last night,” UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted on Sunday.
“My thanks to the emergency services who are working hard at the scene. Anyone with information should contact West Midlands Police,” he added.
