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A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a car struck several pedestrians on one of Derby’s busiest streets.
Derbyshire police said seven people were injured, sustaining “a range of serious but not life-threatening injuries”, in the incident on Saturday night. The force said that “contrary to online speculation” there were no deaths.
Police said officers stopped a car believed to have been involved shortly after the incident, which happened in Friar Gate at about 9.30pm. They also confirmed that their detectives were working alongside officers from counter-terrorism policing but were not yet designating the incident as a terror attack and were “keeping an open mind about the potential motives”.
The driver of the black Suzuki Swift, a man in his 30s originally from India, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, causing serious injury through dangerous driving, inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent, and dangerous driving. He was taken into police custody.
Victims were treated at the scene by ambulance crews before being taken to the Royal Derby hospital and Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, police added.
The force’s statement said: “Although we know this will be alarming, we would like to reassure people that we do not believe there is an ongoing risk to the public.”
Police said a section of Friar Gate was expected to be closed for “a considerable time” and advised people to “avoid the area completely”.
The force asked for anyone who witnessed the car driving in Derby at the time of the incident to “get in touch urgently”.
The Derby North MP, Catherine Atkinson, said she was “deeply shocked” by what she described as a “serious incident”.
Posting on Facebook, she said: “My thoughts are with those injured and I’m grateful to our emergency services. Please follow police advice and avoid the area. Anyone who has information should contact them as soon as possible.”
Baggy Shanker, the MP for Derby South, said his thoughts were with “everyone who has been affected and with their loved ones”.
One person who arrived at the scene shortly after the incident told the Derby Telegraph there were “people on the floor” lying in the road.
They said: “It was such a frightening experience. We came around the corner and there was just people everywhere. We didn’t realise what had happened and then we slowly realised that it was something bad.”
Witnesses also described seeing debris scattered in the road after the incident, and said people who were nearby were crying, describing onlookers as “shook up” and “panicking”.
On Sunday morning, police said the suspect remained in custody, adding in a statement: “The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident are ongoing and we are keeping an open mind as to the motives.”
Derbyshire’s chief superintendent Emma Aldred said: “Firstly I would like to send my best wishes to the people who were injured, their friends and families, and to the public who witnessed what will have been a very traumatic thing to see.
“I know this incident will have sent shock waves through our communities but I would like to reassure people that we have a dedicated team of detectives working on it.
“Thanks to the fast actions of officers, working on eyewitness information from the public, we were able to quickly arrest the suspect in the city just a few minutes after the incident took place. I also want to thank the members of the public and staff from local businesses in Friar Gate, who helped officers with first aid in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
“We will provide updates to the public as quickly as we can, but sometimes those updates take a bit of time due to the complexity of the incident we are dealing with.”
The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, is being kept updated on the incident. The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “My thoughts are with anyone that’s been affected by this, those who’ve been injured or hurt, and their family members at this really difficult time.”
She added: “The police are actively investigating. We don’t believe there is wider cause for the public to be alarmed. The police have made an arrest and the home secretary is being kept updated on this.”
