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A police officer has been praised for his courage after he was stabbed while tackling a man who had injured three other people in a knife attack at a mosque.
Chief Superintendent Alex Murray said the actions of the 31-year-old officer, his colleagues and worshippers who intervened during the incident at the Madrassa Qasim ul Uloom mosque, in the Washwood Heath area of Birmingham, on Saturday had been heroic.
There has been an increase in police patrols around mosques after several attacks in the aftermath of the killing of soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich, south-east London.
Murray said the motivation for Saturday's attack was unclear but there was no evidence it was a hate crime or linked to any other incidents.
A 32-year-old man who had been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder was transferred to a secure mental health facility on Sunday after he was deemed unfit to be interviewed by police.
Police were called to the mosque by a worshipper just after 11pm and arrived within four minutes to find three people injured. They were directed to a side room where they found the suspect armed with a combat knife.
"They challenged the individual and the individual ran at one of the officers with the knife," said Murray. "The officer deployed a Taser, the Taser had no effect on the individual and the individual stabbed the officer in the chest and in the stomach around the stab-proof vest that he was wearing."
Despite being seriously injured, the 31-year-old officer detained the attacker with the help of a female colleague.
The wounded officer, from the Yardley Wood area of Birmingham, who has served with West Midlands police since 2007, was undergoing surgery in hospital on Sunday. "The work of those officers was heroic and the work of the some of the people in the mosque assisting those officers was also heroic," said Murray.
Two worshippers, a 28-year-old man who suffered multiple stab wounds and a 36-year-old man who suffered a single stab wound to the thigh, were also being treated in hospital.
Another worshipper suffered a hand injury but did not need hospital treatment. All were given first aid at the scene by police officers and worshippers, who included an off-duty surgeon.
Police said the arrested man was local, believed to be of Somali origin. He was attending the mosque for the first time.
Dr Arshad Mahmood, who was at the mosque, told the BBC: "A man started stabbing one of the guys who was just sitting right next to him. I don't know what exactly was the reason but he just started stabbing him.
"We went to save him. He had multiple injuries, three or four wounds. Then the policeman came and was also attacked and stabbed."
Mohammed Shafiq, the leader of the Ramadhan Foundation, a Muslim organisation, said: "I have spoken to someone who lives a few doors down from the mosque and they described hearing an argument inside the mosque.
"It escalated into violence and a police officer has been stabbed. People, anti-Muslim extremists, are going to try to take advantage of this it's very serious that a police officer has been stabbed during duty."
Murray said: "This was a one-off incident, we're not looking for anyone else in relation to this incident. We don't understand the motivation at the moment but it doesn't appear at this very early stage to be linked to anything else that's going on around the country."
Birmingham mosque stabbings: police question 32-year-old man | UK news | The Guardian
Chief Superintendent Alex Murray said the actions of the 31-year-old officer, his colleagues and worshippers who intervened during the incident at the Madrassa Qasim ul Uloom mosque, in the Washwood Heath area of Birmingham, on Saturday had been heroic.
There has been an increase in police patrols around mosques after several attacks in the aftermath of the killing of soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich, south-east London.
Murray said the motivation for Saturday's attack was unclear but there was no evidence it was a hate crime or linked to any other incidents.
A 32-year-old man who had been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder was transferred to a secure mental health facility on Sunday after he was deemed unfit to be interviewed by police.
Police were called to the mosque by a worshipper just after 11pm and arrived within four minutes to find three people injured. They were directed to a side room where they found the suspect armed with a combat knife.
"They challenged the individual and the individual ran at one of the officers with the knife," said Murray. "The officer deployed a Taser, the Taser had no effect on the individual and the individual stabbed the officer in the chest and in the stomach around the stab-proof vest that he was wearing."
Despite being seriously injured, the 31-year-old officer detained the attacker with the help of a female colleague.
The wounded officer, from the Yardley Wood area of Birmingham, who has served with West Midlands police since 2007, was undergoing surgery in hospital on Sunday. "The work of those officers was heroic and the work of the some of the people in the mosque assisting those officers was also heroic," said Murray.
Two worshippers, a 28-year-old man who suffered multiple stab wounds and a 36-year-old man who suffered a single stab wound to the thigh, were also being treated in hospital.
Another worshipper suffered a hand injury but did not need hospital treatment. All were given first aid at the scene by police officers and worshippers, who included an off-duty surgeon.
Police said the arrested man was local, believed to be of Somali origin. He was attending the mosque for the first time.
Dr Arshad Mahmood, who was at the mosque, told the BBC: "A man started stabbing one of the guys who was just sitting right next to him. I don't know what exactly was the reason but he just started stabbing him.
"We went to save him. He had multiple injuries, three or four wounds. Then the policeman came and was also attacked and stabbed."
Mohammed Shafiq, the leader of the Ramadhan Foundation, a Muslim organisation, said: "I have spoken to someone who lives a few doors down from the mosque and they described hearing an argument inside the mosque.
"It escalated into violence and a police officer has been stabbed. People, anti-Muslim extremists, are going to try to take advantage of this it's very serious that a police officer has been stabbed during duty."
Murray said: "This was a one-off incident, we're not looking for anyone else in relation to this incident. We don't understand the motivation at the moment but it doesn't appear at this very early stage to be linked to anything else that's going on around the country."
Birmingham mosque stabbings: police question 32-year-old man | UK news | The Guardian
