Blood was seen on the floor and shoppers had to be evacuated after a stabbing in The Brewery Shopping Centre in Romford. 

Police rushed to the centre at 12.53pm yesterday (February 20) after a man was stabbed in a stairwell.

Witnesses said they saw a man with a knife injury to his back.

A man has since been arrested by the Metropolitan Police in connection with the stabbing.

The injured man, 23, was taken to an east London hospital, but his condition is not yet known. London Ambulance Service said they did not attend the scene.

Footage posted to X, formerly Twitter, also showed people who had evacuated The Brewery after the stabbing.

One post at 1.52pm just under an hour after police arrived, showed a frantic scene.

What police know

Police have said the stabbing was unrelated to recent robberies in Romford.

It appears to be an isolated incident with the victim and suspect known to each other, police added.

The force said, having arrested a man, they are not looking for any other suspects.

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What shopkeepers and a resident told us

Daniel Farooque, who has been store manager of Dr Gadgets Romford in Brewery Walk for ten years, felt it was surprising because there is a lot of security around The Brewery.

"I saw people rushing back and forth," he said. "It's surprising because there's a lot of security here.

"It's very worrying that this happened," Daniel added. "It was very shocking."

A mother who was in the shopping centre with two young children said she just wanted to get out as quickly as possible.

"We just wanted to get as far [out] as possible as we could," the woman, who didn't wish to be named, said. "We were with an eight-year-old and a seven-year-old [and] we didn't want them to get scared," she added.

The woman said she was there with her son and a friend when they were told to evacuate the building.

"It's just so scary you can't go out and enjoy [it] anymore," she said on Facebook.

A South Street shop manager said he heard a police car racing past his shop.

"I'm not at all surprised to hear about this happening," Sanjay said. "It's getting worse and worse."

What politicians are doing

Andrew Rosindell, Conservative MP for Romford, said he will "demand" the Mayor of London provides the town additional police resources to keep it safe.

Romford Recorder: Andrew Rosindell said he would 'demand' urgent resources from Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, to keep Romford safe from crimeAndrew Rosindell said he would 'demand' urgent resources from Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, to keep Romford safe from crime (Image: Parliament)

"I want Romford to go back to being the safe, family friendly place I grew up in," Mr Rosindell, who returned to Parliament for the first time in almost two years on Monday (February 19), said.

David Taylor, Conservative councillor for St Edwards in Romford, said he was set to announce details of an urgent "knife crime summit" that he is arranging with community leaders.

"We will announce details on this as soon as possible," Cllr Taylor added.

He urged people in Romford to “pull together as a town” and “look out for those around”.

“Our town is full of amazing people, and amazing police, who I know will be doing all they can right now”, said.

Jane Keane, Labour councillor for St Albans, said she was awaiting further details from police on the stabbing, and hoped witnesses or anyone with information about it would come forward.

Cllr Keane, who attends safer neighbourhood meetings with police, had said the stabbing was "very distressing" for all those connected.

Councillor Ray Morgon, leader of Havering Council, said 

he was “deeply sorry to hear about the terrible incident”.

The council, he said, is working with the police by using its CCTV to review any footage of the incident.

He added: “Our thoughts go out to all those affected. Unfortunately, we are continuing to see these incidents amongst young people, but Havering is still one of the safest places in London."

What comes next

Police said officers from its town centre team will remain in the area and will continue to provide reassurance.

A crime scene had been put in place in The Brewery, but is has since been removed and the shopping centre reopened on Wednesday morning.

Detectives continue to appeal for witnesses or anyone with footage to come forward by calling 101 or posting on X @MetCC quoting 3260/20FEB.

We await a condition update on the injured man who was taken to an east London hospital after the stabbing.