UK police investigate 'targeted attack' after two stabbed outside supermarket in Manchester
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Police in Manchester, England, are investigating a “targeted attack” Monday after two people were stabbed outside a supermarket in the city’s Piccadilly Gardens.
Officers responded around 12:10 p.m. local time to reports that two people had been stabbed near Morrisons supermarket, Greater Manchester Police said in a statement to Fox News. One man was rushed to the hospital. His injuries were believed to be non-life-threatening. A second man was being treated for minor injuries at the scene. No arrests have been made.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A forensic officer is seen at work following a reported stabbing at Manchester Piccadilly Gardens on February 10, 2020 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)
Social media users shared videos showing a heavy police response in the area. Several roads were closed due to the incident. Police asked the public to avoid the area while an investigation is underway.
Investigators are treating the incident as a “targeted attack,” but stress there is no greater threat to the wider community, Greater Manchester Police said.
North West Ambulance Service sent 10 vehicles and crew to the scene, BBC reported. City Councillor Jon-Connor Lyons also thanked Manchester Police for their “rapid response” to the “targeted attack.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Employees from one company in a nearby building received an alert warning that said “an individual has been the victim of stabbing. Please stay within the building until this incident is under control," Manchester Evening News reported. A portion of Oldham Street was also cordoned off.
The incident Monday comes after ISIS claimed responsibility for a knife attack in south London’s Streatham district last weekend. Sudesh Amman, 20, strapped on a fake bomb and stabbed two people on the street before being shot and killed by police. A third person suffered injuries caused by broken glass when responding officers opened fired, investigators said.
Amman, who was wearing a mock suicide vest at the time, carried out the stabbings in response to calls to attack the citizens of coalition countries, a statement posted by ISIS’ Amaq news agency said, according to Reuters. Fox News also independently confirmed ISIS' claim to the attack.
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The man had been convicted of terrorism-related offenses but was later released from prison. The incident last week and a Nov. 29 attack in which two people were killed in central London prompted the U.K. government to announce new emergency legislation preventing the “automatic early release” of people convicted of terror crimes being released after serving only half their sentences.