The stabbings at Manchester’s Arndale Centre left one person with serious injuries and another three requiring medical treatment.
The attacks occurred at roughly 11:15am as shoppers and workers crammed into the shopping complex.
MM reporter, Elizabeth Botcherby, was enjoying a bite to eat when the knifeman – an unidentified man in his 40s – went on the rampage.
This is her first-hand account of the incident that shook the city this morning.
BREAKING: Police cordon off area outside of Manchester Arndale after reports of stabbing pic.twitter.com/l3IoxGlGUZ
— Mancunian Matters (@MM_newsonline) October 11, 2019
“I was sat in Caffè Nero with a bacon barm and a piece of cake, rewarding myself after a successful morning’s shopping in the Arndale and wasting time before a talk at the National Football Museum.
“Looking out on the Exchange Square tram stop, a couple of people ran past the window – nothing out of the ordinary.
“Then two dozen or so more people ran out of the Arndale. One rushed into the café, saying three people had been stabbed in the shopping centre.
“What seems like seconds later a black man exited the Arndale with something in his hand and headed towards the street. One of the baristas ran forward and locked the door.
MM reporter @livburke_ caught the moment passengers were forced to evacuate a tram after reports of a stabbing at Manchester Arndale pic.twitter.com/vnZORN1rYR
— Mancunian Matters (@MM_newsonline) October 11, 2019
“We stood in the window watching him roam the street, ranting and raving, observed from a distance by security guards and the first police on the scene.
“He disappeared from view, heading away from the tram stop towards M&S.
“The next thing we knew the police and ambulances were flooding into the shopping centre. The doorway to the café was cordoned off as the police searched through the bins looking for a weapon.
“A tram was stuck mid-transit, trapped passengers looking out with confusion.
“About 20 minutes after we first heard about the attacks, the coast was deemed clear enough for us to be let out. A few of us exited the café straight into the cordoned off area.
“Ducking under some police tape, I was back in the chaos of central Manchester, thankful that the what-might-have-beens running through my head remained just that.”
READ MORE: Labour councillor Pat Karney praises GMP and emergency services quick response at Manchester Arndale
