KNIFED ON ‘GIRLY WEEKEND’
Manchester Arndale stabbing – woman, 19, visiting for ‘girly weekend’ from Northern Ireland revealed as one of four ‘terror’ knife victims
A TEENAGER visiting Manchester for a "girly weekend" from Northern Ireland has been revealed as one of four victims stabbed in the Arndale Centre rampage.
Shocked witnesses told how a terror suspect armed with a machete yelled: “I’m going to f*** you up” as he randomly lunged at shoppers on Friday morning.
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The 40-year-old man was held on suspicion of terror offences and has now been detained under the Mental Health Act.
Chloe McGurk, 19, of Glengormley, was one of those attacked in the spree that started in the centre's Starbucks.
Her friend, Ellen Da Conceicao, said the shopping trip had been the first stop on a “girly weekend”, but added that her pal was “on the mend”.
A Ghanaian Marks & Spencer worker, 49, visiting the cafe with her friends is said to have been slashed several times.
One victim was knifed in the back and stomach, two had hand injuries and one was stabbed in the leg.
Police said a fifth person did not need hospital treatment. None of the injuries were life-threatening.
Greater Manchester Police is treating the rampage as a "lone wolf" attack,
Horrified witnesses heard screams as armed cops raced to the scene at 11.15am.
Two community support officers who tried to confront the suspect were chased away. Within five minutes armed cops detained him in Market Street outside the centre.
Footage showed a cop pinning down a man as another held a Taser, though it is not thought to have been fired.
"Shaking" Gogglebox star Julie Malone was among hundreds of shoppers who fled the centre in panic.
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Shopper Janet Loudon, 21, saw a man yell "I'm going to f*** you up" repeatedly during the attack.
She said: "He got more and more agitated.
"I carried on walking but saw police run inside the Arndale and heard someone shout ‘knife’ – I was frantically looking for my friend.
“That was when I heard that people had been stabbed and everyone was panicking and frantic. We saw a victim slouched between an ATM which was a horrific sight and she was taken away to be helped.”
A traumatised shop worker revealed he saw a police officer holding a 12inch machete, believed to belong to the attacker.
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Arndale employee Jordan, 23, said: ";A man was running around with a knife lunging at multiple people, one of which came into my store visibly shaken."
Another witness saw the attacker armed with a blade and a woman slumped on the floor covered in blood after she was knifed in the back.
She compared the attack to a "horror film". The shopper added: "There was blood pouring from her and she just fell to the floor."
Chilling footage shows a female victim sobbing after discovering she was attacked with a "real knife" in the rampage.
Shopper Freddie Houlder, 22, described how he heard "a load of screams just outside" the shop he was in and that a man "was running around going for as many people as possible".
He said a woman then came into the shop and told others "a guy just ran past the shop and tried to stab me".
He added: "Luckily she had quite a thick jacket - she thought originally it was a fake knife because of how easily it grazed off but police came in and said it was a real knife and she burst into tears."
Mr Houlder, from Market Drayton, said he was evacuated several minutes later at which point he saw "a bunch of curtains covering someone seriously injured or dead, I don't know".
A man was running around with a knife lunging at multiple people
Shop Worker
Houlder, who filmed the suspect being arrested said he was "screaming", as petrified families told how they hid in shops as staff pulled down the shutters.
Elle McLaughlin, 22, from Failsworth, Oldham, who was shopping with her sister Amy and her baby, cowered in All Saints.
She said: "We were told to go into to All Saints and they kept us in there and pulled the shutters down so we were safe.
“It was frightening - we were in there for about 15 minutes then evacuated."
Manchester Police initially said five people had been knifed but later confirmed paramedics had treated four people, with three stabbed.
Tina Concar, 52, from Miles Platting, Manchester, said she was evacuated after the attack.
She said: "We only knew something was unfolding as loads of people started running towards us, at first shouting 'bomb'.
"But then someone mentioned that a person had been stabbed. People were panicking and running as security staff were running the other way."
Police chief describes attack as 'brutal and extremely frightening for everyone'
Greater Manchester Police are treating the rampage as a "lone wolf"; attack, the MEN reports.
The suspect is a 40-year-old man and believed to be British.
Assistant chief constable Russ Jackson said the knifeman strolled into the Arndale centre armed with a large knife and "lunged and attacked people".
Two PCSOs confronted the attacker who chased them away.
He said: "It was brutal and extremely frightening for everyone who witnessed it.
“It’s bound to bring back memories of 2017 (terror attack). We don’t believe anyone else was involved but we are keeping it under review."
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The North West Ambulance Service confirmed they treated four patients, one with serious injuries, with all being taken to hospital.
A GMP spokesman said: "In these early stages we are keeping an open mind about the motivation of this terrible incident and the circumstances as we know them.
"Given the location of the incident and its nature officers from Counter Terrorism Police North West are leading the investigation as we determine the circumstances."
Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: "Shocked by the incident in Manchester and my thoughts are with the injured and all those affected. Thank you to our excellent emergency services who responded and who are now investigating what happened."
Other horrifying attacks in Manchester
The Arndale Centre is just a few hundred yards from the Manchester Arena and Victoria railway station - both of which have been the scene of recent terror attacks.
Twenty-two people were killed in May 2017 when Salman Abedi detonated a suicide bomb in the Manchester Arena following an Ariane Grande concert - the youngest victim was just eight years old.
Last New Year's Eve, three people including a police officer were seriously injured after a 25-year-old man launched a knife attack on passers-by.
The suspect was heard to shout "Allah" and "Long live the Caliphate" during the incident - he was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and his since been detained under the Mental Health Act.
In 1996, the Arndale Centre was damaged in a major bomb attack by the IRA in which a 1,500-kilograms device loaded on a lorry was detonated on Corporation Street.
More than 200 people were injured in the explosion, although there were no fatalities.
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