Police have confirmed three people were killed, and another three were injured, after a knife-wielding attacker went on a shocking early morning rampage in Nottingham on Tuesday.
A man was later arrested in connection with the incidents. Here’s everything we know.
How did the attacks play out?
The attacks occurred in at least three different places and the suspect was arrested in a fourth location.
A man stabbed two university students to death on Ilkeston Road just after 4am.
He then fatally stabbed a man in his 50s on Magdala Road, more than a mile away, stole his van and ran down three pedestrians on Milton Street shortly afterwards.
One man is in a critical condition with the two others believed to have suffered minor injuries.
The van was stopped on Maple Street, where a man was tasered and detained by police officers.
What did witnesses see?
Witnesses gave harrowing accounts of the attacks, with one telling the BBC he heard “awful, blood-curdling screams” and saw a man “dressed all in black with a hood and rucksack grappling with some people”.
Some described a horrifying scene in the city centre about 90 minutes after the initial attack when the van ran into pedestrians at a street corner and then fled.
Lynn Haggitt was on her way to work when a white van pulled up beside her at 5.30am. She saw the driver look in his mirror and spot a police car approaching slowly from behind without its lights on. The driver then accelerated and struck a man and woman at a street corner, she said.
“He went straight into them, he didn’t even bother to turn,” Haggitt told reporters according to The Associated Press. “The woman went on the curb, the man went up in the air, there was such a bang, I wish I never saw it, it’s really shaken me up.”
Kane Brady, a student at the University of Nottingham, said he awoke to shouts of “armed police” and heard what sounded like a gunshot outside.
He said he saw officers holding stun guns and a man being dragged out of the van and pinned on the ground.
“I saw him getting arrested, him trying to resist,” he told GB News. “When they opened the van, I saw a large knife being pulled out and then straight away that’s when police closed off both roads.”
Photos showed the hood of the van dented and cracks in the windshield.
What do we know about the assailant?
Nottinghamshire Police said a 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and that they believe he acted alone.
Police confirmed they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the attacks.
They are keeping an “open mind” as to what the motives behind the attacks were and are working with counter-terrorism investigators to establish what happened.
What do we know about the victims?
Two 19-year-old students from the University of Nottingham were among the dead.
One has been confirmed to be Barnaby Webber. Taunton-based Bishops Hull Cricket Club paid tribute to him, who was one of its members, describing him as a “dear friend”.
The other has been named in reports as talented hockey player Grace Kumar.
A graduation ball that had been scheduled on Tuesday evening has been cancelled.
The attack on the students occurred near student housing that’s a short walk from the university’s Jubilee Campus.
A vigil at Nottingham’s St Peter’s Church, in the city centre, was attended by hundreds of people paying their respects to those who died and those injured.
During the service, attended by mainly students from both the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University, those present were invited to place flowers below the altar or light a candle.
A university statement read: “It is with great sadness that we confirm the sudden and unexpected death of two of our students following a major incident in Nottingham city centre overnight.
“We are shocked and devastated by the news and our thoughts are with those affected, their families and friends. We know this is likely to cause distress for staff and students in our community.”
What have the police said?
Nottinghamshire Police chief constable Kate Meynell confirmed officers had carried out searches at a number of properties around the city – with cordons seen being put up on various sections of Ilkeston Road.
At a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, she said: “We are still in the early stages of the investigation. I need to determine exactly what the motives were behind this attack.
“We are keeping an open mind and are working closely with counter-terrorism policing to establish the facts as we would normally do in this type of circumstance.
“The families of all the victims have been informed and are being supported by specially-trained officers.”