Pictures of a white Vauxhall Vivaro van with a dent in its front have emerged
By Michael Sheils McNamee
BBC News
Three people have died and another three injured following a series of attacks in the UK city of Nottingham early on Tuesday morning.
There is still a lot we do not know, and we are trying to pull together a clear picture of how things unfolded as details emerge.
Here is what we know so far.
What happened?
Two people were found dead in Ilkeston Road, west of Nottingham’s city centre, just after 04:00 BST.
In another incident, a van attempted to run over three people in Milton Street in the city centre. They were all taken to hospital.
A man was also found dead in Magdala Road, about a 10-minute drive away.
Police are linking all three deaths. At the moment, they aren’t giving us any more timings beyond the 04:00 incident.
A 31-year-old man was arrested in Bentinck Road on suspicion of murder, and he remains in police custody.
There is no information at the moment about whether or not the incident was terror-related.
What do we know about the victims?
Very little at the moment. According to one eyewitness, the pair who were stabbed in Ilkeston Road were a “girl, and a man or boy” who “looked quite young”.
No details have emerged so far about the man found dead in Magdala Road.
Police said the three injured in Milton Street were taken to hospital, with one man in a critical condition and the other two believed to have minor injuries.
One eyewitness, who saw a man and woman struck by a van, said: “The woman was sitting up on the kerb – she looked OK. The man was laying down but then he got up.
“But I just can’t believe he was able to get up.”
What are eyewitnesses saying?
- Some readers may find the details below distressing
Lynn Haggitt witnessed the van being driven into two people in Milton Street.
She said she saw the driver look in his mirror and see a police car behind him. At that point, he “quickened up” before going “straight into” them, she said.
“The woman went on the kerb and the man went up in the air,” she said. “It 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.”
Nottingham attack eyewitness: ‘I wish I never saw it’
Another eyewitness said he saw a young man and young woman stabbed in Ilkeston Road at about 04:00 BST.
The man, who asked to remain anonymous, said he looked out of the window and saw a “guy dressed all in black with a hood and rucksack grappling with some people. It was a girl, and a man or boy she was with – they looked quite young.
“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 man said he phoned 999 and police arrived within five minutes. Paramedics spent 40 minutes trying to revive the pair, he added.
What’s the police response been?
Police said the investigation was in its early stages and they needed to work out the motive behind the attacks.
They said they were keeping an “open mind” and working alongside counter-terrorism policing, as would normally be the case for an incident like this.
Police were supported by National Inter-Agency Liaison Officers, or Nilo, a purple-uniformed crisis response unit made up of different emergency services.
One man, arrested on suspicion of murder, remains in custody and police don’t believe anyone else was involved.
Around lunchtime, armed police raided a property in Ilkeston Road where two people were earlier found dead.
Officers knocked the door down and police are now outside the property.
In Magdala Road, where one man was found dead, police have set up a forensics tent.
Image source, Reuters
Damage to a van is photographed by officers
Forensic officers were also looking at a dented white Vauxhall van in Bentinck Road near the scene of the arrest.
A dedicated police phone line has been set up and anyone concerned about family or friends can call 0800 096 1011.
