Man arrested in murder inquiry after Birmingham stabbings

London: A 27-year-old man was arrested on Monday on suspicion of murder and attempted murder in connection with a stabbing spree in Birmingham which claimed one life and injured seven others, UK police said.

West Midlands Police said the suspect was detained at an address in Selly Oak area of the city in the early hours of Monday after detectives worked through the night in a bid to catch the suspect, who remains in police custody for questioning over the knife attacks.

Officers worked through yesterday and into the early hours of this morning in a bid to trace the man we believe responsible for these terrible crimes, said Chief Superintendent Steve Graham, the Birmingham Police Commander.

We issued CCTV footage of the suspect and had a strong response from the public Clearly, this is a crucial development but our investigation continues. We still need to speak to any witnesses who saw what happened who've not yet spoken to us, or anyone who may have video footage or photos of the incidents or the attacker, he said.

During the attack in the early hours of Sunday, a 23-year-old man suffered fatal injuries in Irving Street having been stabbed in what police believe was a random attack .

A man and a woman, aged 19 and 32, suffered serious stab wounds and remain in hospital in a critical condition. Five other people, aged between 23 and 33, were less seriously hurt.

The first attack happened in the Constitution Hill area of Birmingham, followed by further stabbings in Livery Street, Irving Street and finally Hurst Street. The streets in the city centre remained under cordon until Monday morning as investigations continued.

Earlier, the police had said that the stabbings did not appear to be terrorism or gang-related as they declared a major incident . Officers have reportedly recovered a knife from a drain but say it was "way too early" to say if it is connected to the case.

(PTI)