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Nottingham, a student city in central England, is in shock. Three people were killed, three injured. The crime scenes are spread all over the city – and are probably related.
Loud screams echo through a street in Nottingham early in the morning. It is the prelude to a day that people in the city in central England probably only know from crime series on television. Sirens can be heard everywhere. Many streets are blocked off, trams stand still, buses are diverted.
The police speak of a “serious incident”. It soon became clear that three people were killed and three injured. A 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder, police said.
Two of those killed are students, as it became known in the evening. “Against this background, we have decided to cancel the prom tonight,” said the local student association.
Legend:
Police cordon off a street in Nottingham, UK.
Keystone/Jacob King/PA via AP
Chief Constable Kate Meynell speaks of a “terrible and tragic incident” in a first reaction.
The crime scenes are spread all over the city:
First crime scene
Two bodies were found on Ilkeston Road west of the city just after 5:00 a.m. CEST. An eyewitness told the BBC that he heard cries for help and then saw from the window a black-clad gunman stabbing a young man and woman.
Second crime scene
A little later, the police are called to an incident in the center: Apparently, a white van tried to run over three people. He saw a person lying on the ground, said Carl Cassidy, who just brought his wife to work, the BBC. When he stopped, a van passed him by a hair’s breadth and killed two people. The driver was being followed by police cars and acted on purpose, eyewitness Lynn Haggitt told the broadcaster. “I’m very shaky, I’ve never seen anything like it.” The injured were taken to a clinic.
Third crime scene
Finally, another dead body is found on Magdala Road north of the center. The acts are probably related, as chief investigator Meynell said. There is about 1.6 kilometers between the crime scenes.
Investigators are also on duty at a fourth location: officials arrested the alleged perpetrator there. A shaky video is said to show the action, which is said to have taken place around 5:30 a.m.
Legend:
Securing evidence at one of the three crime scenes.
Keystone/LINDSEY PARNABY
‘They dragged him out of the car and he fell to the ground. He put up quite a fight,” student Demi Ojolow told PA. Photos from the scene show a van with the door open. The windshield has cracks, but it is unclear whether these are from bullets. There is a backpack on the floor.
The authorities initially gave no information on the possible background. According to information from the broadcaster Sky News, the police are currently investigating murder and not a terrorist act. Authorities called on witnesses to come forward and provide footage from surveillance cameras and dashcams.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak thanked the emergency services for their work. Interior Minister Suella Braverman was “shocked and saddened”. “Our city is devastated by the deaths of three people this morning,” said the three MPs for the central English city, representing the opposition Labor party, in a joint statement.