London: Several people were injured in a series of stabbings in Birmingham in England early on Sunday, with British police declaring it a “major incident”.
“We can confirm that at approximately 12.30 am today (September 6) we were called to reports of a stabbing in Birmingham city centre,” West Midlands Police said in a statement.
“A number of other stabbings” were reported in the area shortly after and “this has been declared a major incident”, news agency AFP quoted the police as saying.
“We are aware of a number of injured people, but at the moment we are not in a position to say how many or how serious. However, all emergency services are working together at the scene, and making sure that those who are injured receive medical care,” the stement said.
#UPDATE | We can confirm that at approximately 12:30am today we were called to reports of a stabbing in #Birmingham city centre.
We immediately attended, along with colleagues from the ambulance service. A number of other stabbings were reported in the area shortly after.
— West Midlands Police (@WMPolice) September 6, 2020
Footage aired on British TV news channels showed large areas of the city centre cordoned off as police officers wearing forensic suits worked at the scene.
“Work is still going on to establish what has happened, and could take some time before we are in a position to confirm anything. At this early stage it would not be appropriate to speculate on the causes of the incident,” police said.