Five people injured after stabbing at mall in Manchester

By: CNN

Posted: Oct 11, 2019 8:27 AM EDT

Five people were stabbed Friday at a shopping mall Manchester, northwest England, police say. Source: @xkimdunnell from Twitter

By Bianca Britton, CNN

(CNN) -- Five people were stabbed Friday at a shopping mall Manchester, northwest England, police say.

Greater Manchester Police said in a statement that counter-terrorism police were leading the investigation into the incident at Arndale shopping center and that a 40-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of serious assault.

Police added that as it is still "early stages" they are "keeping an open might about the motivation of this terrible incident and the circumstances."

Witness Freddie Houlder, 22, who was shopping for shoes at the time, told CNN that he "heard screams" before a woman ran into the shop and "said someone tried to stab her."

"She said this guy was trying to stab random people," Houlder said. "We were locked in the shop for around 20 minutes, then were finally allowed out."

A spokesperson for North West Ambulance service told CNN earlier that they had received "multiple" calls for help at 11:17 a.m. local time and that several people were being treated by emergency services.

The spokesperson added that a "number of resources" -- one ambulance, two hazardous response vehicles and a physician -- had been deployed to Arndale Center.

A large number of officers were pictured at the scene via social media posts.