“A number of people sustained injuries and were taken to hospital,” the police said on Twitter, urging the public to avoid the area as police investigate the incident, which police said took place at Forbury Gardens.
Police are treating the incident as terror-related, according to the PA Media news agency, which cited an unnamed source.
Police asked that members of the public not to post images or videos of the incident on social media, but instead to report these to the police. Police also said there was no indication the incident was related to a Black Lives Matter protest that took place in Reading on Saturday.
At least two people suffering from stab wounds were being treated at the nearby Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading following the incident Saturday, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
The South Central Ambulance Service confirmed it responded to the incident to treat “a number of casualties who had sustained injuries as a result of the incident.”
The service said five ambulance crews and two air ambulance crews responded to stabbing.
One eyewitness gave an account to PA Media, describing a man who shouted before stabbing people.
“The park was pretty full, a lot of people sat around drinking with friends, when one lone person walked through, suddenly shouted some unintelligible words and went around a large group of around 10, trying to stab them,” 20-year-old Lawrence Wort told PA Media.
“He stabbed three of them severely in the neck and under the arms, and then turned and started running towards me, and we turned and started running,” Wort said.
The man stabbed another person in the back of the neck, Wort said, before running out of the park.
“My thoughts are with all of those affected by the appalling incident in Reading and my thanks to the emergency services on the scene,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote on Twitter.
“Deeply concerned to hear reports of an incident in Reading,” UK Home Secretary Priti Patel said. “My thoughts are with everyone involved, including police and emergency responders at the scene.”
Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/8992s-rCqc4/index.html
