Nottingham attacks: A timeline of how the incident unfolded

A 31-year-old man remains in police custody after being arrested on suspicion of murder.

Here is how the incident unfolded:

– 4am

Police were called to Ilkeston Road after a member of the public said two people were unresponsive after being stabbed in the street.

A witness told the BBC he saw a young man and young woman being stabbed.

The man, who did not give his name, said he heard “awful, blood-curdling screams” and looked out his window to see a “black guy dressed all in black with a hood and rucksack grappling with some people”.

He told the broadcaster: “She was screaming, ‘Help!’ I just wish I’d shouted something out of the window to unnerve the assailant.

“I saw him stab the lad first and then the woman. 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. The next minute she had disappeared down the side of a house and that’s where they found her.

“I’d say it all happened within five or six minutes. The attacker then just walked off up Ilkeston Road towards town, as calm as anything.”

– 5am

Police officers knock on doors in Ilkeston Road asking for CCTV footage, according to residents.

– Man found dead

A man in his 50s was found dead from knife injuries in Magdala Road by a member of the public.

Police believe the suspect stole the man’s van before driving off.

– 5.30am

The van was driven at three people in Milton Street, according to witnesses.

Lynn Haggitt said: “He looked in his mirror, saw a police car behind him. He then quickened up. There were two people, two in the corner, he went straight into these two people.

“The woman went on the kerb, the man went up in the air. There was such a bang. I wish I never saw it. It’s really shaken me up.

“I went over. Perhaps I shouldn’t have gone over but I wanted to see if I could help.

“He (the van driver) backed up after he hit… and drove up Parliament Street.

“The woman was sitting up on the kerb. She looked OK. The man was laying down but then he got up, sat on the side waiting for an ambulance,” Ms Haggitt said.

She added: “I can’t believe he was able to get up after the head wound.”

One man was taken to hospital in a critical condition while two others were believed to have suffered minor injuries.

– Just after 5.30am

Residents in Bentinck Road said they saw police officers drag a man out of a white van.

The man was tasered and arrested on suspicion of murder.

Student Demi Ojolow said: “I just saw the police shouting at him to get out of the car and get on the floor.

“And they dragged him out of the car and he just fell on the floor.

“They dragged him away and that was about it.”

Another student, Josh Fenner, 20, said he believes he heard a shot after waking up at 5.30am as the officers were dealing with the van.

– 7am

Nottinghamshire Police spoke of a “serious incident” and said multiple road closures were in place.

– 9.37am

The force confirmed three people died in the attack, with a 31-year-old man held on suspicion of murder.

Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: “This is an horrific and tragic incident which has claimed the lives of three people.

“We believe these three incidents are all linked and we have a man in custody.

“This investigation is at its early stages and a team of detectives is working to establish exactly what has happened.”

– 1pm

Armed police could be seen standing outside a property in Ilkeston Road.

– 2.30pm

Nottinghamshire Police said they were keeping an “open mind” over the attack’s motive while working alongside their counter-terror colleagues to “establish the facts”.

– 5pm

A vigil at Nottingham’s St Peter’s Church, in the city centre, was held.

It was attended by hundreds of people, mainly of university age.

The Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham, the Rt Revd Paul Williams, said the impromptu service was an opportunity to “pray for those whose lives have so cruelly taken away”.

– Just before 6pm

Police confirmed two 19-year-olds and man in his 50s were killed in the attacks.

The force also said the families of the victims had been informed.