Police “are keeping an open mind and are working alongside Counter Terrorism Policing to establish the facts,” Meynell said.
Police were called to a residential area near the city center just after 4 a.m. local time, and “two people were found dead in the street,” they said in a statement. They said another person, a man, was found dead on a road about two miles away.
Officers also responded to a third incident close by “where a van had attempted to run over three people.” They were being treated in a hospital — one in a “critical condition,” police said, and the remainder with “minor injuries.”
Nottinghamshire police said they had no clear motive for the attacks but were “keeping an open mind” and had detained a 31-year-old man on “suspicion of murder.” They were not looking for “anyone else in connection with the attacks,” they added, and were “working alongside Counter Terrorism Policing to establish the facts.”
“This is a tragic series of events which has led to the lives of three innocent people being taken,” Meynell said in a statement.
“We are at the early stages of the investigation and need to determine the motives behind these attacks and will keep the public updated as soon as we are able to say more,” she continued. “We are keeping an open mind as we investigate the circumstances surrounding these incidents.”
Meynell urged the public to be patient and said a number of roads in the city would remain closed, although it was “safe” to go into the city center.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called it a “shocking incident” and thanked police for their work. “I am being kept updated on developments,” he tweeted. “My thoughts are with those injured, and the family and loved ones of those who have lost their lives.”
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his concern on Twitter: “We share the grief of our British friends and stand by their side.”
The leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, called it “awful news” and also said his “thoughts are with the family and friends of those who have lost their lives.”
Nottingham City Council leader David Mellen announced a public vigil for the victims at 5 p.m. local time in the square near St. Peter’s Church. He told BBC Nottingham Radio that the hospitalized victims’ “only crime was being at a bus stop early in the morning.”
Nottingham, which lies in the Midlands, has a population of about 300,000. The killings and the van attack occurred a short distance from the city’s university and central railway station. Images showed that police had cordoned off streets in the city center, although nearby shops remained open.
“Nottingham is a beautiful city, home to brilliant people from all backgrounds,” local parliamentary representative Nadia Whittome said on Twitter. “We are shaken by today’s events but will meet them collectively as a community and heal together.”