Police arrest UK stabbing suspect on suspicion of terrorism
LONDON (AP) — A man wielding a large knife who allegedly lunged at shoppers and chased unarmed police in a northwestern England mall was arrested Friday on suspicion of terrorism.
Five people were hurt, three of whom needed hospital treatment for stab wounds, and the 41-year-old suspect was detained. Police do not believe anyone else was involved in the attack at the Arndale Center in Manchester.
“We do not know the motivation for this terrible attack,” Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson said. “It appears random, is certainly brutal and of course extremely frightening for anyone who witnessed it.”
Jackson said the incident was “bound to bring back memories of the awful events of 2017,” when 22 people were killed after a suicide bomber targeted a concert by pop star Ariana Grande at Manchester Arena, a venue only few hundred meters away.
The Manchester Arena bombing caused widespread anguish in part because so many of the dead and wounded were young fans of Grande, a pop star with massive following among teenage girls.