Disclaimer: the topics discussed in this article have been subject to widespread speculation; we have taken steps to ensure accuracy in this article but we acknowledge that we may not have all the facts. We urge our readers not to speculate or otherwise take any action which may cause panic or anxiety.
UPDATE: Police have made an arrest, appeal for any further information
The locations of the incidents that are being investigated by the police include Portswood Road, Church Lane and Bevois Valley Road.
A couple of men have been stopped and spoken to by officers, but no arrests have been made yet.
These incidents have caused widespread speculation amongst the Southampton student community, with discussion of lockdowns on the university campus itself and multiple attacks in the surrounding area.
University of Southampton have confirmed there were no direct incidents affecting their campuses and reiterated to students that their buildings always remained fully open. At least one student was told by the Student Hub that there had been an anti-social incident earlier on Monday and that the police have spoken to the person involved.
One student, who wished to remain anonymous, told us that, whilst in the process of leaving one of the Students Union buildings, they were advised that it wasn’t safe to go outside, they were told to wait inside for the safety bus which then took them home. We have reached out to SUSU for comment and will update this article with any response we receive.
To our knowledge, the individual involved in the incident on campus is not the same person the police are currently looking for.
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary are asking students with any information to come forward to help catch the man.
Despite rumours that both these incidents involved stabbings, there have been no reports of this: “At this stage we have not been contacted by any victims or witnesses to any incidents. We need people to come forward if they have been a victim of, or witness to, any incidents of this nature“, the force stated.
Students have been reassured that the Police have stepped up their patrols in those areas where the man has been active.
We will have extra police in the areas throughout the day to help provide reassurance
the Police added in their statement.
Any students with information should contact Hampshire Police online or via 101 quoting the reference 44230464818. [Update: the reference is now 44230459660/Op Swim]
At the time of writing, we are aware of some other alleged incidents from the past few days, we are refraining from reporting on those at this time out of respect for the alleged victim(s); it is also not clear to us if there is any connection between these and the individual police are currently looking for. [Update: it is now believed that the individual was connected to at least one of the other incidents we were aware of.]
We will publish updates to this story as new information becomes available.
Note: The Anonymous author on this article is a placeholder intended to acknowledge the input and contributions of a number of our members.
