Suspect arrested in connection with Birmingham stabbings

Police in Birmingham, England, arrested a man Monday and charged him with stabbing eight people, killing one, in a series of apparently random attacks in the city early Sunday.

The suspect, a 27-year-old man whose name was not immediately released, was charged with murder and seven counts of attempted murder. He was detained in the Selly Oak neighborhood in southwest Birmingham around 4 a.m. local time, police said.

A 23-year-old man died in the attacks Sunday, and two other victims, ages 19 and 32, were in critical condition at a hospital Monday, police said. Five other victims, ages 23 to 33, sustained less serious injuries.

Police said they were unable to discern a pattern in the attacks, leading them to believe that the victims had been chosen at random. Steve Graham, chief superintendent of the West Midlands Police, said Sunday that there was no indication the attacks were related to terrorism or gang violence, nor that they were a hate crime.

Starting in the early hours of Sunday, the assaults spanned the center of the city, which is about 120 miles northwest of London, lasted at least 90 minutes and ended in a bustling nightlife area. Witnesses said that an attacker wearing a hooded top had approached the victims without warning, and eluded bystanders’ attempts to capture him.

“It happened very quickly,” one witness, Savvas Sfrantziz, a bar owner in the nightlife area, told Sky News, describing one of the attacks. “He just went up to her and just stabbed her. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Officers sifted through surveillance camera footage and asked for photographs and videos from the public to help in the search. One tip led them to an address in Selly Oak, where the arrest was made.

In a statement released Monday, police said the arrest was “a crucial development,” but underlined that the investigation was continuing. “We still need to speak to any witnesses who saw what happened who’ve not yet spoken to us, or anyone who may have video footage or photos of the incidents or the attacker,” the statement added.