How string of violent attacks in Nottingham unfolded

Nottingham awoke to news of a string of violent attacks that left three people dead and three others in hospital.

Police believe the incidents are all linked. A 31-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Here’s what we know about where and when the attacks unfolded.

Witnesses tell of chaos in wake of attack – follow live updates

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4.10am – Two stabbed on Ilkeston Road

Two people were found dead on Ilkeston Road, close to the junction with Bright Street, just after 4am.

A witness told the BBC he saw a young man and young woman being stabbed and heard “awful, blood-curdling screams”.

“I saw him stab the lad first and then the woman,” the witness said.

“It was repeated stabbing – four or five times. The lad collapsed in the middle of the road.

“The girl stumbled towards a house and didn’t move. The next minute she had disappeared down the side of a house, and that’s where they found her.

“I’d say it all happened within five or six minutes. The attacker then just walked off up Ilkeston Road towards town, as calm as anything.”

5am – Residents woken by “banging”

A resident on Ilkeston Road said a police officer was “banging on his door” at around 5am asking for CCTV footage.

The man said he was told the incident happened around 4.10am before being asked if he had witnessed anything.

Man found dead on Magdala Road

A third man was found dead in Magdala Road shortly after two people were stabbed about two miles away on Ilkeston Road.

5.30am – Van attack on Milton Street

A van driver attempted to run over three people on Milton Street, just over a mile from Ilkeston Road.

Witness Lynn Haggitt told the BBC a white van had pulled up beside her near the Theatre Royal at 5.30am.

She said: “He looked in his mirror, saw a police car behind him, he then quickened up, there were two people, two in the corner, he went straight into these two people.

“The woman went on the kerb, the man went up in the air, there was such a bang, I wish I never saw it, it’s really shaken me up.”

Another witness, Frances, told Sky News she was on her way to work at around 5.30am when “all of a sudden” she heard a “bang” which sounded like a car hitting a bollard.

“I turned around and then saw the two people on the floor, on the road,” she said.

“Someone was screaming, I think a gentleman ran over to help as well.

“The van was still there, and then moments later the van took off and then the police arrived.

“I ran over to see how the two people were, just to see what I could do to help.

“There was a male and a female. The female – she could speak, she was in pain from the impact of hitting the ground. She had hit her head as well. She was still able to speak.

“The gentleman, I think, took the full brunt of the van, and he had head injuries but was still awake, he didn’t lose consciousness at that stage.”

On reflection, she said she did not realise what was happening at the time: “I thought it was just a hit-and-run.

“I went to work, and then I started hearing more, that three people had been potentially killed and that a third person had been injured as well.”

Three people were injured and are being treated in hospital.

5.30am – Man arrested on Bentinck Road

People living in Bentinck Road said they saw police drag a man out of a white van at about 5.30am.

Unverified footage showed a man being detained outside a convenience store on the road.

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Demi Ojolow, a student who lives in the road, said: “I just saw the police shouting at him to get out of the car and get on the floor.

“And they dragged him out of the car and he just fell on the floor. He was still pretty wrestling at the point.

“They dragged him away and that was about it.”

Ms Ojolow said police were pointing some kind of weapons at the man but she was not sure whether it was a Taser or firearm.

7.04am – Police declare “serious incident”

The first official announcement came at 7.04am, when Nottingham Police said emergency services were at an “ongoing serious incident”.

They asked people to avoid road closures in the city centre.

9.37am – Police announce arrest

Police said they had arrested a man on suspicion of murder.

It is understood the 31-year-old man has a history of mental health problems.

Shortly before 1pm – Two women taken away by armed officers

Two women were taken away in a police van from Ilkeston Road shortly before 1pm.

A witness told Sky News correspondent Becky Johnson how armed officers, some wearing balaclavas, were on the road a few hundred yards above the main cordon.

Police appeared to enter a commercial property on the street, with two young women eventually put in the back of a marked car.

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