Afghan man, 20, is arrested after ‘attacking five people with a crowbar’ in hospital waiting room ‘when he was refused an appointment’

An Afghan national who allegedly attacked five people who wanted an appointment in the hospital waiting room with a crowbar was arrested.

Merseyside Police rushed to Newton General Hospital in Newton-Le-Willows, Merseyside, just after noon.

The sad incident started when a man originally from Afghanistan came to the hospital to make an appointment.

When his request was rejected, he became even more agitated and attacked several people with a weapon believed to be a crowbar.

Medical teams attended to the injured, whose injuries were found to be not life-threatening.

The 20-year-old Afghan was arrested on suspicion of five counts of wounding with intent, fighting and criminal damage.

He was taken to a local police station and remains in custody.

While there were many police officers at the scene, citizens were warned to stay away from the area.

Police at the police cordon outside Newton General Hospital. Medical teams attended to the injured, whose injuries were found to be not life-threatening.

St Helens Parish Officer Sarah Rotherham said: ‘We were called to reports of a man behaving aggressively in hospital and attacking several people.

‘Officers immediately intervened and the male was quickly located and arrested.

‘Medical teams came to the hospital and gave first aid to the injured.

‘I would like to take this opportunity to ask anyone who witnessed this incident at the hospital to contact us and provide information.’

A spokesperson for Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: ‘We can confirm that an incident occurred at Newton Hospital today (30 December 2025) and the Trust is working closely with Merseyside Police as they carry out their investigations.

‘Our priority is the safety and wellbeing of our staff, patients and visitors and we are providing full support to those affected.

‘If you have an appointment at Newton Hospital or are the next of kin of an inpatient, our team will contact you directly with any updates.’

In a statement, Merseyside Police said: ‘We arrested a 20-year-old man following reports that five people were attacked at Newton General Hospital in Newton-Le-Willows this afternoon.

‘Just after 12pm we received a report that a man had gone to the hospital to make an appointment.

‘It is believed at this stage that his request was refused and when he was asked to leave he became increasingly agitated and damaged the counter before attacking several people inside the hospital with a gun (possibly a crowbar).

Merseyside Police outside the hospital. While there were many police officers at the scene, citizens were warned to stay away from the area.

Police rushed to the scene after receiving a report that a man was attacking several people with a weapon believed to be a crowbar.

Chaos broke out at a Merseyside hospital after an Afghan national was refused a hospital appointment.

‘The injured are currently being treated by paramedics in hospital. ‘The injuries are not life-threatening.’

‘Anyone with information about the incident should contact Merseyside Police’s social media desk @MerPolCC on X and Facebook using reference 25001060801. You can also provide information via our website or call 101.

‘Alternatively, contact independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.’

Newton Le-Willows councilor Seve Gomez-Aspron said his father, who lives next door to the hospital, told him about the attack.

Major Gomez-Aspron said: ‘At around 12.10pm I received a call from my father, who lives next to the hospital, and said he had run over to a family friend’s house to say someone had attacked staff inside the hospital and damaged the reception area.

‘I live nearby so I told him to call the police and I went straight to the hospital and got there within minutes.’

He thanked Merseyside Police and the North West Ambulance Service for their quick response and for being “faced with a scenario where the danger was unknown”.