Police are appealing for witnesses after a taxi driver was stabbed repeatedly by a customer following an argument over a fare.
Officers were called to Ruskin Avenue in the Moss Side area of Manchester shortly before 8.10pm on Saturday. The 42-year-old victim received serious injuries and was taken to hospital for treatment. His injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.
Greater Manchester police said the driver had picked up a man on Dickenson Road, Longsight, before driving to Moss Side. “After the car stopped, the customer began arguing over the cost of the fare before repeatedly stabbing the driver and fleeing the scene,” said a police statement.
The taxi driver is thought to have got out of his car following the attack and knocked on people’s doors pleading for help, before collapsing. A witness told the Manchester Evening News the man had been stabbed multiple times in the arms and stomach. Two houses remain cordoned off on Sunday morning and blood could reportedly be seen on neighbouring doors.
Police said they were looking for a slim white man in his mid-20s with dark hair. He was described as wearing a black coat and black hoodie with the hood up.
DI Geoff Machent of GMP’s City of Manchester team described the incident as “a disgusting attack on an unsuspecting man who was trying to do his job and provide a service to members of the public”.
“We have been carrying out significant lines of inquiry since last night and have now established that the offender was picked up on Dickenson Road in Longsight before being taken to Ruskin Avenue where he launched his attack,” he said.
“Thankfully the taxi driver’s injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. However, this could easily have been a different story. I would like to appeal to anyone who believes they may have any information they think could help us find the person responsible so that they can be brought to justice.”
