Police are hunting a knifeman who randomly killed a man and injured seven other people in a terrifying mass stabbing rampage in Birmingham city centre.
Over a two-hour period, the attacker stabbed eight victims at four scenes in the Acadian and Snow Hill areas, about a mile apart, while he roamed the busy area, where bars and pubs had been packed, in the early hours of Sunday.
With the murder suspect still at large, residents have been told to remain "alert" and "vigilant" as West Midlands Police officers carry out a manhunt. CCTV from a local bar showed a possible suspect walking "casually" past the venue after officers and paramedics raced to the area.
There was no evidence the stabbings were a hate crime or an act of terrorism, said Chief Superintendent Steve Graham.
Of the seven surviving victims, a man and a woman were in a serious condition in hospital, while the other five suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Witnesses said two people had been "stabbed in the neck", and at least one person was knifed in Gay Village. Small blue forensic tents were set up at bloodstained scenes in Irving, Barwick and Livery streets, while much of Hurst Street was cordoned off.
a serrated blade while searching a drain in Edmund Street.
A man said he witnessed the attack in Irving Street, where blue tents were later erected close to the gates of a primary school, adding: "Two people were stabbed in the neck, they were put in an ambulance and taken away."
Witnesses said CPR was performed on one of the victims.
