Birmingham police declare major incident after multiple stabbings in the city’s Gay Village
Law enforcement cordoned off the junction of Hurst Street and Bromsgrove Street after a string of stabbings that left ‘a number of people’ wounded. (Screen capture via Birmingham Live)
Police declared a major incident in the Gay Village of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England, early Sunday morning (September 6) after reports of multiple stabbings.
West Midlands Police said officers were called to the city centre at 12:30am. Ambulances services followed.
Police said there were a “number of” victims, but the severity of the injuries was not immediately known.
Within the patchwork of witness claims and police reports, it appeared a furore erupted in the area in and around the Gay Village, packed along Hurst Street, witnesses said.
A victim was reportedly stabbed in the Gay Village, while other stabbings occurred in Snow Hill and nearby Arcadian Centre, a shopping mall stuffed with bars and nightlife hotspots.
Pretty scary tonight – stabbings around Hurst Street and the gay village. So much police – hope people are safe… #Birmingham #GayVillage #HurstStreet
— Calvin Biddle (@Biddle99) September 6, 2020
Imagine leaving your apartment building in the Arcadian to find blood all over the floor there and to be told there’s been multiple stabbings on hurst street ?? what world do we live in— ?????? ?❁?? (@DixiePopDP) September 6, 2020
A “series of incidents in the Hurst Street area” occurred, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street who was briefed by the chief constable said, according to the BBC.
He said the incidents “look to be related” but the motivation for them is “not yet understood”.
At the time of writing, the police cordoned off a the corner of Hurst Street and Bromsgrove Street, where many people had been seated at outdoor tables and drinking earlier.
A major incident refers to an emergency that requires the special arrangments of more than one emergency service, local authority or the National Health Service. All emergency services had been called to the scene, police said.
‘Number of stabbings’ seize Birmingham’s bustling Gay Village and nearby areas, witnesses and police say.
A local club promoter at Arcadia claimed a brawl broke out in the early morning.
Cara Curran told BBC Radio 5 that as she clocked out around 12:30am, and, while enjoying drinks with colleagues, saw “one group of boys against another group of boys” and that she had heard racial slurs during the incident.
'I've never witnessed anything like it'
Police have declared a major incident after a stabbing in Birmingham City Centre.
Cara works in the area and was at the scene.
She tells @chriswarburton_ what she saw on #5LiveBreakfast pic.twitter.com/GEA4nrMHfF— BBC Radio 5 Live (@bbc5live) September 6, 2020
The force confirmed the incident in a news release, writing: “We can confirm that at approximately 12:30am today (Sunday 6 September) 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.”
The agency stressed that there was a “number of injured people” and acknowledged witness reports of gunfire but are unable to confirm that at the time of the investigation.
