One man was killed and two people critically injured during a “random” stabbing attack in Britain’s second city of Birmingham, West Midlands Police said on Sunday.

Police have declared a major incident in Birmingham city centre after West Midlands police officers were called over reports of multiple stabbings there at 12:30am on Sunday.

The force noted that work is underway to establish what has happened, and could take some time before the officers are in a position to confirm anything. For now, the force has assumed the attacks are not related to terrorism or hate crime, according to PA Media.

“At this early stage it would not be appropriate to speculate on the causes of the incident,” police said.

Chief Superintendent Steve Graham said a murder inquiry had been launched but there was “no suggestion at all that this was terror-related.

“It does appear to be a random attack,” he added.

Police urged people to remain calm and stay away from the area as multiple cordons are still in place.

Source: Agencies