A man has been arrested after several people were stabbed at a shopping centre in Manchester, police said.
The Arndale Centre has been evacuated and is on lockdown, with reports of people being kept inside whilst officers deal with the incident.
A Greater Manchester Police statement said: “We are currently responding to an incident at the Arndale Shopping Centre in Manchester City Centre.
“Officers are in attendance and early enquiries suggest that several people have been stabbed.
“A man in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of serious assault. He has been taken to custody for questioning.
“Enquiries remain ongoing.”
Counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation into the stabbings because of the location and nature of the incident, Greater Manchester Police said.
A GMP statement said: “Specialist officers are continuing to respond to an incident at the Arndale shopping centre in Manchester city centre.
“We can confirm that five people have been stabbed and taken to hospital.
“In these early stages we are keeping an open mind about the motivation of this terrible incident and the circumstances as we know them.
“Given the location of the incident and its nature officers from Counter Terrorism Police North West are leading the investigation as we determine the circumstances.
READ MORE: Teenager charged over alleged stabbing at Rutherglen railway station
North West Ambulance Service said it had treated four people after being called at 11.17am to reports of a stabbing incident.
“We are still on the scene. It is a stabbing incident.
“We’ve got quite a few resources there,” a spokesman for the service said.
They refused to give details on the severity of the injuries.
Due to a police incident we are currently experiencing minor delays on the East Didsbury & Rochdale via Oldham line. This is due to the ongoing incident at Exchange Square. We apologis for any inconvenience this may cause.
— Manchester Metrolink (@MCRMetrolink) October 11, 2019
The tram service has also suspended at Exchange Square.
An image sent to the Manchester Evening News appeared to show a patient being treated by a Starbucks cafe in the centre.
BREAKING: Police cordon off area outside of Manchester Arndale after reports of stabbing pic.twitter.com/l3IoxGlGUZ
— Mancunian Matters (@MM_newsonline) October 11, 2019
Meanwhile, footage posted to social media showed police officers running through the shopping centre and several emergency services vehicles parked outside.
Several people posted on Twitter to say that they had been evacuated.
A shop worker, who gave his name only as Jordan, 23, told the PA news agency: “A man was running around with a knife lunging at multiple people, one of which came into my store visibly shaken with a small graze.
“Soon after, security staff told all retail staff to close their doors and move the public to the back of the stores.”
Jordan, who has only been working at the centre for a few months, said the attack took place on the ground floor.
Freddie Houlder, 22, from Market Drayton, was in the Arndale Centre when he heard “a load of screams just outside” the shop he was in.
He said a woman then came into the shop and told others “a guy just ran past the shop and tried to stab me”.
READ MORE: Two Scottish teenagers charged for cyber attack on Metropolitan Police
Mr Houlder added: “Luckily she had quite a thick jacket – she thought originally it was a fake knife because of how easily it grazed off but police came in and said it was a real knife and she burst into tears.”
He said he was evacuated several minutes later at which point he saw “a bunch of curtains covering someone seriously injured or dead, I don’t know”.
“I definitely don’t think it was gang violence because this guy was going around trying to stab random people, I believe.”
We'll keep you updated on this breaking news story as we get it.
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