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01st Jan 2019

‘Horrific’ Manchester stabbings treated as terror attack

Police have confirmed the incident is terror related

Oli Dugmore

Police have confirmed the incident is terror related

The stabbing of three people at Manchester Victoria train station is being treated as a terror attack by police.

Greater Manchester police do not believe there is a wider threat to the public and have said the incident is not ongoing.

Three people were stabbed, including a British transport police officer.

The attack took place in the transport hub just before 9pm and all three of the victims, including a man and woman in their 50s, were taken to hospital in a “serious” but not life-threatening condition. The police officer, who was stabbed in the shoulder, left hospital this morning. The two others both suffered stab wounds to their stomachs.

Two knives were recovered at the scene and an address in Cheetham is being searched by the authorities following a raid by counter-terror police.

The attacker’s motives are as yet unknown.

Ian Hopkins, Greater Manchester police’s chief constable, said the event was a “horrific attack on people simply out to enjoy the New Year’s Eve celebrations,” and that British Transport Police officers displayed “incredible bravery” dealing with the suspect who remains in custody in Manchester.

Sam Clack, a BBC producer, was in Manchester Victoria at the time of the attack.

He said: “I just heard this most blood curdling scream and looked down the platform.

“What it looked like was a guy in his 60s with a woman of similar age and another guy all dressed in black.

“It looked like they were having a fight, but she was screaming in this blood curdling way. I saw police in high-vis come towards him. He came towards me.

“I looked down and saw he had a kitchen knife with a black handle with a good, 12-inch blade. It was just fear, pure fear.”