The Facebook post that appears to contain a “genocide” plot is being investigated by counter-terrorism police investigating the attacks in which two women were seriously injured in Leeds.
A 38-year-old man suffering from “self-harm” was arrested and two weapons (a crossbow and a firearm) were recovered from the scene.
He was described as a “significant suspect” by police who said he remained in the hospital in danger on Sunday.
One of the two women, ages 19 and 31, has been discharged from the hospital, while the other has undergone surgery after suffering a life-threatening injury and is in stable condition.
Police also said they know the video is circulating on social media. This is a reference to footage that appears to have been taken from a passing car, showing a man in black wearing a carry case over his shoulder.
Police counterterrorism director for North East, Det Ch Supt James Dunkerley, said officers are working at a pace to establish the full facts and circumstances of Saturday’s incident, but “We are not currently looking for anyone else in connection with this issue.
Alex Sobel, a Labour MP for Leeds Central and Headingley, spoke with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on Sunday afternoon and said she will remain in touch with her and security minister Dan Jarvis regarding aspects of the incident.
“I would like to thank the Blue Light Service for the locals and how they responded to this and for the fact that the area is now cleared and is no longer a live crime scene,” he said.
“The broader implications of the attacks where lethal weapons were discovered in a very busy area where the country’s most populous pub crawls are held are real concern,” he added.
Sobel said he will raise issues of weapon availability related to the incident and ways to keep people safe while standing in large groups and queueing.
Counterterrorism police are investigating many Facebook posts, including those that appear to contain plots of “massive murder” attacks, to determine whether they are linked to the attacker or case.
The post appeared before the attack on Facebook accounts, showing very right sympathy and increasingly reflects “mixed ideology” on the radar of counterterrorism police.
The posts are listed as “target” students, nightclub participants, and “neurotype.” A reference was made to a “manifesto,” written by the man who killed 51 people during a shooting at a mosque and Islamic centre in New Zealand in 2019.
Facebook’s parent company Meta told Guardian that it clearly took steps to remove its account. It is associated with the incident.
The Interior Secretary received further updates from counter-terrorism police on Sunday after being first explained in the wake of the attack.
The incident caused shock throughout the community in the Headingley area of Leeds over the weekend. There, many students and other students take part in the pub crawl route on a daily basis, days before the summer begins in many university courses.
One venue at Taylor’s sports bar and grille remained closed all weekend due to police investigations, but posted on Facebook that it intends to reopen on Monday.
“While we try to witness some scenes firsthand, such a low life scum never wins in our society,” the statement added.
A member of staff at another bar said he saw dozens of emergency service vehicles descend into the area on the Saturday afternoon after the attack, but it took several hours for people to fully recognize what had happened.
“We were told and wary, but otherwise you wouldn’t have known. It wasn’t until the evening that people started asking about it,” they said. “I think people are really shaken by that.”
Two weeks ago, The Guardian revealed that counterterrorism police and national criminal organizations had set up a new joint task force to tackle young men who have been stuck with online violence.
