Teenager stabbed in Lancashire days after Belfast knife attack

A 17-year-old girl has been stabbed in the neck in northwest England, just days after a brutal knife attack in Belfast sparked national outrage and anti-immigration riots.

A 30-year-old British-born man of Pakistani heritage was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following the incident in the town of Brierfield, Lancashire Police said on Saturday. The victim is also of Pakistani heritage, according to the BBC.

Police said officers were called after receiving reports that a teenager had been stabbed on Friday afternoon.

Video footage circulating on social media purports to show the attacker walking up behind the unsuspecting girl, who had was wearing a hood, and stabbing her twice in the neck.

“This was a very serious incident but thankfully the girl’s injuries were not life-threatening,” police said. “After receiving treatment and care, she has been discharged from hospital and is recovering at home.”

Oliver Ryan, the MP representing Brierfield, called on people not to “exploit” the incident for clickbait.

“First and foremost, my thoughts are with the young victim of yesterday’s horrific stabbing,” he said in a statement on X on Saturday.

The attack comes at a time of heightened tensions across Britain and Northern Ireland.

Earlier this week, Sudanese asylum seeker Hadi Alodid attacked a man in Belfast, leaving him with severe injuries including the loss of his left eye. He was later arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. The gruesome video of Alodid kneeling atop the bloodied victim and repeatedly cutting at him with a knife quickly went viral and ignited widespread outrage.

The attack sparked several nights of anti-immigration riots across Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland, with multiple residential buildings, shops, and vehicles set ablaze.

The violence came amid long-running tensions over immigration and asylum policy in the UK, following multiple high-profile murder and rape cases involving migrants in recent years.