Man arrested after incident in Liverpool city centre

We have arrested a man following an incident in Liverpool City Centre in the early hours of this morning (Sunday 1 March) which has left another man in a critical condition in hospital.

At 4am, it was reported men had been seen fighting close to River Island on Church Street. One of the men, aged 19, sustained a stab wound to the chest and is in a critical condition in hospital. A second 19-year-old sustained a minor neck injury.

Officers attended and a short time later a 20-year-old man was detained close to McDonalds on Ranelagh Street. He has been arrested on suspicion of two counts of Section 18 assault, possession of a bladed article and possession with intent to supply drugs, and taken by ambulance to hospital for treatment following a medical episode. His condition is described as stable.

CCTV, forensic and witness enquiries continue at the scene and cordons are in place.

We want to hear from any witnesses or anyone who has heard information since.

Detective Inspector Mark Drew said: “At this stage the exact circumstances are unclear, so we need to speak to anyone who was out in town in the area of Church Street who saw or heard anything around 4am this morning, or may have since heard talk of who was involved.

“Bringing knives onto our streets has caused devastation to so many people and their families in recent years.

 

“We have shown that when people tell us what they know about who is carrying knives and where they are being stored, we will and have taken positive action to

remove knives and those who recklessly carry them from the streets.

“We understand the fear and harm that knife crime causes across the country, and Merseyside Police invests significant resources into carrying out warrants, stop checks and searches to target offenders who carry knives. In recent weeks and months, we have seized large numbers of weapons and made significant arrests connected to knife crime. Much of this is down to the information our communities provide, so please come forward.

“If you don’t want to speak to us directly, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously and we will do the rest.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact @MerPolCC or 101 with reference 136 of Sunday 1 March. Alternatively, you can speak to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.