British police has early Sunday declared a “major incident” after a large number of people were stabbed in the centre of England’s second city Birmingham.

West Midlands Police in a statement said, “We can confirm that at approximately 12:30 am today (Sunday 6 September) we were called to reports of a stabbing in Birmingham city centre.”

“A number of other stabbings” were reported in the area shortly after and “this has been declared a major incident.”

“We are aware of a number of injured people, but at the moment we are not in a position to say how many or how serious.

“However, all emergency services are working together at the scene, and making sure that those who are injured receive medical care.”

Footage aired on British television news channels showed large areas of the city centre shut off while police officers wearing forensic suits worked at the scene.

In the words of West Midlands Police, “Work is still going on to establish what has happened, and could take some time before we are in a position to confirm anything.”

“At this early stage, it would not be appropriate to speculate on the causes of the incident.”