Norfolk’s Chief Constable reacts to latest stabbing in Norwich

Norfolk CC Paul Sanford said: “I’ve been reading comments online about this and I know how concerned people are.

“Police officers live in our communities too; we have the same concerns about the escalation of violence as everybody else. I want you to know we’re putting all our efforts into following the evidence, finding those responsible and bringing them to justice. These are not random attacks and it’s clear there is a group of people in the city using growing levels of violence against each other.

“We’re making further enquiries to see if the incidents are linked. Serious violence will not be tolerated and when an incident like this happens, we will always look to increase and target patrols of plain clothes and uniformed officers to focus on particular areas and exploit all the resources available to us, including deploying drones and police dogs. I accept we can’t be everywhere, but we can be anywhere.”

Officers were called to Motum Road in Norwich shortly before 2.15pm yesterday (Thursday 3 February 2022) following reports a teenager had been stabbed. Officers’ initial enquiries revealed the incident may be connected to an aggravated burglary at a property in Magpie Road in Norwich the previous evening.

The teenager was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries. He has subsequently been arrested in connection with the aggravated burglary in Magpie Road the previous evening and remains in hospital under police guard.

Subsequent enquiries have established that the five people arrested in Magpie Road yesterday (Thursday 3 February) in connection with the stabbing on Motum Road the same afternoon are not involved in the incident. They have been released from police custody and no further action will be taken against them.

Additional police officers will be on patrol in Norwich this evening and over the coming days and anyone with concerns is encouraged to share these with officers.

Officers are keen to hear from any witnesses to Thursday’s incident in Motum Road as well as those with any dashcam or security doorbell footage. They’re asked to call Norfolk Police on 101 quoting investigation number 36/8883/22. Alternatively, they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.