Man stabbed to death in gay village

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Police are investigating the murder of a 25-year-old man who was stabbed to death in Manchester’s gay village.

At about 7.30pm on Monday 25 February 2008 the victim was on Canal Street when he was approached by two other men.

One of these men approached the victim and stabbed him in the neck. He suffered a serious stab wound in the incident and was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary.

He died a short time later.

Officers have now launched a murder inquiry to establish the circumstances surrounding this incident.

Superintendent Catherine McKay, from Greater Manchester Police’s North Manchester division, told PinkNews.co.uk: “At this stage it is too early to speculate about a possible motive. We are making extensive inquiries to establish exactly what happened but it would appear it was not a homophobic attack.

“We have a good relationship with businesses in the Gay Village and also with the community and would like to reassure people that it is a safe place to visit. We have a dedicated team comprising an officer and police community support officers based in Canal Street to provide advice and reassurance to people who live, work and socialise there.

“While it is true to say that this kind of incident is incredibly rare on Canal Street it does not take away from the fact that this man’s death is a tragedy. We are doing all we can to piece together what happened. I would also appeal to any witnesses or anyone with information about the incident to come forward.”

A 66-year-old man was arrested on Monday 25 February 2008 on suspicion of murder and is currently being interviewed by detectives.

A 49-year-old man was also arrested on Tuesday 26 February 2008 on suspicion of murder and is police custody for questioning.

Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to call Greater Manchester Police on 0161 872 5050 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. You can also contact Greater Manchester Police’s Gay Village Safer Neighbourhood Policing Team, which is based at the Lesbian and Gay Foundation on Princess Street, with information on 0161 856 3277.

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