Afghan man arrested after ‘attack on five people’ as he was ‘refused hospital appointment’ | UK | News
A man who allegedly attacked several people with a “crowbar” at noon on Tuesday, December 30, was accompanied by four police officers from the hospital. The 20-year-old suspect, originally from Afghanistan, is said to have become “increasingly agitated” when his request for an appointment at the hospital was rejected and he was asked to leave. A short time later, Merseyside Police were called to Newton Community Hospital in Newton-le-Willows following reports that a man had attacked a group of people.
The suspect is said to have damaged the hospital counter before attacking at least five people. It was stated that the injuries were not life-threatening. Video footage he saw Liverpool Echo It showed the moment a man was escorted from the hospital by four police officers to a waiting van, with at least six patrol cars surrounding the building.
Local councilor Seve Gomez-Aspron told the Echo that a family friend ran to his father’s house nearby to say someone had attacked staff at the hospital.
He said: “At around 12.10pm I received a phone call from my father, who lives next to the hospital, saying 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 rushed to the hospital and was there within minutes. A major emergency response was undertaken to deal with the incident from the time the call was received until its arrival.”
A local store employee told the news site that a woman walked into his store covered in blood and asked him to call the police.
“There was a lot of blood on the back of his head and on his shoulder. He was shaking and upset,” Sugedaran Shanmugaraja said.
“I had to stay with the customers because there was a long queue, but I gave her my phone and she called the police. Then 10-15 police cars and an ambulance arrived. I gave her a bottle of water and then a hospital nurse came in and helped the lady.”
For the rest of the day, coroners were seen at the hospital, with police vehicles stationed outside. It was reported that the building was closed to the public in the evening after the attack.
It is not yet known who the dead were, but it has been reported that both hospital staff and patients were injured.
