Everything we know about the Birmingham stabbing spree

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder following a series of stabbings across Birmingham yesterday that left one person dead and seven others injured.

The 27-year-old suspect was detained at 4am today at an address in Selly Oak, in the southwest of the city, according to West Midlands Police. He is also being held on seven counts of attempted murder.

The alleged knifeman “was at large for 24 hours following the attacks”, which took place over a 90-minute period early on Sunday and prompted the police “to declare a major incident”, The Guardian reports.

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A 23-year-old man was killed in the attacks, while a man and a woman, aged 19 and 32 respectively, suffered critical injuries. Five other people, aged between 23 and 33, were also injured.

All were treated in hospital, with two later discharged.

According to the BBC, police first responded to reports an attack just after 12:30AM yesterday at Birmingham’s Constitution Hill, where a man sustained a superficial injury. Around 20 minutes later, police were called to an attack in Livery Street, near to Snow Hill railway station, in which “a 19-year-old man was critically injured and a woman was also hurt”, the broadcaster reports.

At 1:50AM, police were sent to Irving Street, where a man suffered fatal injuries and another was seriously injured.

Shortly after, officers were called to the city’s Gay Village, where they found a 32-year-old woman with critical injuries. Two men had also suffered stab wounds.

Following the arrest of the suspect, Birmingham’s police commander, Chief Superintendent Steve Graham, said: “Officers worked through yesterday and into the early hours of this morning in a bid to trace the man we believe responsible for these terrible crimes.”

However, the force has faced criticism for “waiting 15 hours until after the last incident to release CCTV video and a description of the suspect”, The Times reports.