A Muslim woman has been widely praised on social media for rushing to help the victims of a triple stabbing in Manchester on New Year’s Eve.
Three people, including one woman and one man, and a British Transport Police (BTP) officer were injured in a knife attack by a man at Manchester Victoria station on Monday 31 December at 9pm.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have confirmed that they are treating the incident as a “terror attack”.
A Muslim woman was immediately praised on social media for helping the victims.
The unidentified Muslim woman was one of three members of the public who went to the aid of the two wounded commuters, both in their 50s, after she was pictured with her arm around a victim.
GMP said the male victim suffered injuries to the abdomen, while the female victim sustained injuries to her face and abdomen.
The BTP officer in his 30s was stabbed in the shoulder, and has since been released from hospital.
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A GMP spokesman said: “The police sergeant was taken to hospital with a stab wound to his shoulder following the attack at the station.
“Within minutes, a man was arrested near to Metrolink platforms A and B on suspicion of attempted murder.”
Counter-terrorism police are continuing to question a man accused of carrying out the stabbings.
The suspect is being held on suspicion of attempted murder.
The chief executive of the Manchester-based Ramadhan Foundation, Mohammed Shafiq, told the Independent: “It doesn’t surprise me that a Muslim woman in a hijab stopped to give comfort.
“We had Muslim taxi drivers take people for free after the Manchester Arena attack. It is a very positive image of our community. It is things like this which bring us together.”
The former prominent prosecutor Nazir Afzal tweeted: “Awful news but Manchester has shown how it responds to those who try to divide us. The woman with hijab helping victims is far more reflective of Muslims than the idiot with a knife.”
