A teenage boy has been repeatedly stabbed outside one of the UK’s busiest shopping centres.
The 16-year-old was rushed to hospital after being found next to Manchester‘s Arndale Centre, on Church Street, just before 4:30pm on Saturday.
Footage circulating on social media shows a heavy police presence outside the centre, with the victim being transported on a stretcher.
The boy is receiving treatment, and is believed to be in a stable condition.
“This is an awful incident, which has left a teenage boy in hospital and my thoughts are with him as he receives treatment,” said detective inspector Jen Tattersall of Greater Manchester Police.
“I understand that this incident and a large police presence in the city centre is likely to cause concern among members of the public.
“However, I would like to reassure those worried that we believe this to be an isolated incident.”
No arrests have been made but the area remains cordoned off.
Church Street resident, Tess Page, told the Manchester Evening News she noticed splatters of blood in her street as she returned home to “a massive police presence”.
“It looked to me like something that had started somewhere else and finished somewhere else,” she told the paper.
Det Ins Tattersall added: “This happened in a busy part of town and at a busy time of the day, and as such, there are bound to have been witnesses.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police.
Additional reporting by PA
