Man Charged After 3 Found Dead, 3 Others Hit by Van

Three people were found dead in the English city of Nottingham, and three others were hit and injured by a van in linked early-morning incidents on Tuesday, police said. A 31-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder, Nottinghamshire Police said. "This is [a] horrific and tragic incident which has claimed the lives of three people," said Chief Constable Kate Meynell, per the AP. She said two people were found dead on one street just after 4am and a third on a different street, separately from the van incident.

The three injured people were being treated in a hospital. There was no immediate word on their condition. A witness tells the BBC he saw a young man and young woman being stabbed from his window. The man says he heard "awful, bloodcurdling screams" and then saw a man dressed in black with a knapsack attack the couple. "I saw him stab the lad first and then the woman," the man says. "It was repeated stabbing—four or five times. The lad collapsed in the middle of the road. The girl stumbled towards a house and didn't move."

Another witness tells the UK broadcaster he and his wife narrowly avoided getting hit by a white van while he dropped her off at work. "As my wife opened the car door, we heard an almighty bang," the man recalls. "A white van was heading for my car but it swerved and missed us by inches, mounting the pavement. I got out of the car and saw two people lying on the ground."

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Police gave no immediate indication of a possible motive. "We believe these ... incidents are all linked and we have a man in custody," Meynell said, per the AP. "This investigation is at its early stages, and a team of detectives is working to establish exactly what has happened." The update came after emergency services flooded central Nottingham, a city about 120 miles north of London, in what police called an "ongoing serious incident." Images on social media showed police standing near cordons at several locations in the city center. The city's tram network said it had suspended all services. (More murder charges stories.)