Police have arrested a man on suspicion of terror offences after a stabbing attack at a central shopping centre in the northern UK city of Manchester.
Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson said at a press conference that the man held following the incident at Manchester Arndale Centre was
arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of an act of terrorism.
Earlier, Greater Manchester Police said five people had been injured in the attack.
"We can confirm that five people have been stabbed and taken to hospital,” the statement from the police force read.
"In these early stages, we are keeping an open mind about the motivation of this terrible incident and the circumstances as we know them.
"Given the location of the incident and its nature officers from Counter Terrorism Police North West are leading the investigation as we determine the circumstances," the statement added.
It is customary in attacks with multiple victims in major UK cities for counter-terror units to lead investigations.
The British prime minister Boris Johnson has praised the response of Britain’s emergency services to the stabbing in Manchester in a statement on Twitter.
“Shocked by the incident in Manchester and my thoughts are with the injured and all those affected,” the prime minister wrote.
“Thank you to our excellent emergency services who responded and who are now investigating what happened,” he added.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, footage shared on social media showed two police officers, one of them holding a Taser, as they restrained a man on the ground.
On Twitter, users said there was chaos in central Manchester as pedestrians were warned away pedestrians from the Arndale Centre and shoppers were evacuated from the mall.
One image provided to the Manchester Evening News showed one victim being treated in a Starbucks café. The North West Ambulance service has said four individuals were being treated at the scene for their wounds.
Eyewitnesses have spoken of a man randomly attacking customers in the shopping centre. "A man was running around with a knife lunging at multiple people, one of which came into my store visibly shaken with a small graze,” A shop worker, who gave his name only as Jordan, 23 said.
"Soon after, security staff told all retail staff to close their doors and move the public to the back of the stores," he added.
Freddie Houlder, 22, from Market Drayton was in the Arndale Centre when he heard "a load of screams just outside" the shop he was in.
He said a woman then came into the shop and told others "a guy just ran past the shop and tried to stab me".
Mr Houlder added: "Luckily she had quite a thick jacket - she thought originally it was a fake knife because of how easily it grazed off but police came in and said it was a real knife and she burst in to tears."
He said he was evacuated several minutes later at which point he saw "a bunch of curtains covering someone seriously injured or dead, I don't know".
Police have continued to ask people to stay away from the centre and not to be alarmed by the large police presence. A rendezvous point has been established
at Manchester's Piccadilly Gardens.
Britain’s current terror warning level stands at “severe”, which means a terror attack remains extremely likely.
The country was rocked by a series of terror attacks in 2017 including the Manchester Arena Bombing in which 23 people were killed in an ISIS-inspired attack.
The Arndale Centre is just a few hundred yards from the Manchester Arena and Victoria railway station.
On New Year’s Eve three people including a police officer were injured after a 25-year-old man launched a knife attack on random pedestrians. He was later detained under the Mental Health Act.
