Three Killed in Alleged Late-Night Van Rampage
A British city center was locked down by police on Tuesday after three people were killed and three others injured in a series of alleged van attacks, according to authorities and media reports.
Police were called to an incident in Nottingham, East Midlands, shortly after 4 a.m. where two people lay dead in the street. They were then called to another incident nearby where a van had allegedly tried to run three people over—they were taken to hospital for treatment. Another man was found dead at a third location.
“This is an horrific and tragic incident which has claimed the lives of three people,” said Kate Meynell, chief constable of Nottinghamshire Police. “We believe these three incidents are all linked and we have a man in custody.”
The 31-year-old suspect was arrested on suspicion of murder, police said. Counter-terror police are believed to be assisting the investigation, according to The Guardian, but authorities have not yet declared it a terrorist incident. Investigators are reportedly looking into the suspect’s background and trying to establish a possible motive.
Speaking to GB News, a witness said they woke at around 5:30 a.m to what sounded like gunshots and saw armed police officers tasing and dragging the suspect out of a van. They added that the glass in the vehicle had been smashed.
Video aired on the network appeared to show three officers arresting a man lying on the sidewalk alongside a white van with the passenger-side door open.
“We saw a man pinned down on the ground and multiple armed police surrounding him,” said the witness, who filmed the footage. “More armed police later turned up after that, and a few of the armed police actually quickly left to go to the city center because on the radio we heard that there’d been some sort of stabbing or some sort of big commotion in the city center.”
A correspondent later said on GB News that police “apparently were seen taking from a rucksack what looked like a rather large knife.”
Lynn Haggitt told Channel 4 News that she saw a white van pull up at her side at around 5:30 a.m. being followed slowly by a police car without its sirens on. “The man in the driver’s seat looked in his mirror and saw a car—a police car—behind him. The white van then quickened up to the corner of the street and went into two people.” She said that a man and a woman were knocked down, and that the man appeared badly hurt with a head injury.
“This investigation is at its early stages and a team of detectives is working to establish exactly what has happened,” Chief Constable Meynell said in a statement. “We ask the public to be patient while inquiries continue. At this time, a number of roads in the city will remain closed as this investigation progresses.”
Road closures were put in place after the incident and all tram services in Nottingham were suspended.
“I want to thank the police and emergency services for their ongoing response to the shocking incident in Nottingham this morning,” U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted. “I am being kept updated on developments. The police must be given the time to undertake their work. My thoughts are with those injured, and the family and loved ones of those who have lost their lives.”
Source » msn
