Investigation into whether two city centre stabbings are linked

A MAN was stabbed outside a Co-op store in Manchester city centre hours after another victim was knifed in Piccadilly Gardens just a few hundred yards away.

Several ‘white men’ are believed to have carried out the High Street attack, police said.

Earlier, a man was set upon near Morrisons in Piccadilly Gardens.

Detectives are investigating whether the incidents are linked.

They are appealing for witnesses – or anyone with information – to come forward. Patrols have been stepped up in the wake of the attacks.

Officers were first called to Piccadilly Gardens after a man was stabbed in the back and head.

Reports came in at around 7.37pm on Sunday, a spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said. A man, understood to be in his 40s, was treated by paramedics before being rushed to hospital.

Police said the man’s injuries were ‘not thought to be serious’. Crowds watched on from behind police tape. Crime scene investigators were later seen trawling the scene for clues, with evidence markers placed on the pavement.

At around 9.56pm, a man in his 20s was attacked outside the Co-op on High Street. He had two stab wounds. The man was taken to hospital where he remained in a serious condition.

Anyone with information about either incident can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.