Belfast’s night of stabbings: PSNI arrest 38-year-old man in probe into assaults on women

He has been taken to Musgrave Station for questioning.

Police had released further images today in the hunt for an attacker who targeted six women.

The women were assaulted or stabbed in a series of incidents across south Belfast on Monday night.

Belfast area co-ordinator Chief Superintendent Simon Walls has urged the public for help to identify the man in the images which were grabbed from CCTV footage.

“These latest images were captured in the city centre a short time before the first incident, which occurred at approximately 7.42pm on Monday evening in Castle Place, in which a female pedestrian received a stab wound,” he said.

Five other incidents occurred until 9.03pm, with three women being stabbed and two being punched.

“We believe that each of these attacks were carried out by a male on a bicycle,” said Mr Walls.

He described the man as wearing dark clothing, cycling a mountain bike which may have a light-coloured frame and reflectors on the spokes.

“We believe the man may have been wearing a black mask and wearing a backpack,” he said.

“We are doing everything we can to identify and arrest this man.”