Bangor attempted murders: 'No further developments' say police after body found during knifeman hunt
Police say there have been ‘no further developments’ after a manhunt for a knifeman wanted for two attempted murders in Bangor resulted in a body being found.
A woman in her 50s and man in his 20s are reportedly recuperating after their discharge from hospital, after the horror attack on Christmas Eve sent shockwaves through the Co Down seaside city.
On Saturday police announced they’d found a body in the manhunt for the prime suspect. The suspect was previously identified as 54-year-old Jonathan Baker, who was last seen in the Coniston Road part of Bangor on the afternoon of the double murder attempt, less than an hour after the incident took place.
As of Sunday evening, police said they had no further updates and were still waiting on confirmation of the formal identification of the body.
Both Coniston Road and the scene of the stabbings, Chippendale Avenue, are quiet suburban streets, normally immune to the kind of shocking violence unleashed on Christmas Eve.
The two roads are just a couple of minutes’ walk from each other, though Coniston Road backs onto the wide expanse of Bangor Golf Club’s course.
The incident saw a man armed with a hammer and knife break into a house on Chippendale Avenue shortly before 3.30pm on Wednesday. According to police, he “assaulted a woman aged in her 50s and a man aged in his 20s before leaving the scene on foot, still armed”.
The man and woman were both taken to hospital for treatment for their injuries, though by Saturday had reportedly been discharged.
The PSNI warned people not to approach the suspect, releasing a photo of him on Christmas Day and on Saturday naming him as Jonathan Baker. He was described as wearing a navy blue jacket with the brand name ‘Helly Hansen’ written on the back in white, standing roughly 5ft 10ins in height, with short, dark hair and wearing blue jeans plus dark trainers with white soles.
Said Superintendent Lindsay Fisher: “Although we do not believe there is a serious risk to the wider community, we would continue to remind members of the public not to approach Jonathan if they see him, but to create a safe distance and contact police immediately on 101, or 999 in an emergency.”
She added that officers were “becoming increasingly concerned for his welfare”, and directly appealed for Baker to get in touch with the PSNI.
“We have conducted a number of searches at different properties and areas as we actively seek to locate him,” said the superintendent – though at around 8.15pm on Saturday night, the police announced officers investigating the attempted double murder had found the body of a man.
"Formal identification will take place in due course,” stated police at the time, something that was still the case as of this evening.
North Down MLA Peter Martin labelled Saturday’s discovery of a body as “sad news and a truly awful few days for everyone involved”.
The DUP politician added: “My thoughts and prayers remain with them. I wish a full recovery to the two injured people.”