11 men arrested on suspicion of attempted murder

A total of 11 men have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after two men were stabbed in Bristol.

The attack happened near Rawnsley Park, Easton, at around 4.40am on Sunday, Avon and Somerset Police said.

Two men in their 20s were taken to hospital with stab wounds, which are not believed to be life-threatening, but one of the men is still in a serious condition.

Officers have now arrested 11 men in connection with the incident, all on suspicion of attempted murder.

We do not underestimate the concerns of the local community following this recent incident of knife crime and serious violence in Bristol. It is because of this that we have taken the decision to introduce section 60 powers for our officers

All remain in police custody.

mpu1

Part of Bristol came into effect at 7pm and will initially be in place for 24 hours, the force said.

Superintendent Lisa Simpson granted the authority to use powers under Section 60 and Section 60AA of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act on Sunday afternoon.

The powers will allow uniformed officers to stop and search any person or vehicle in a specified area for a weapon to prevent serious violence.

Mrs Simpson said: “We do not underestimate the concerns of the local community following this recent incident of knife crime and serious violence in Bristol.

“It is for this reason that we have taken the decision to introduce section 60 powers for our officers.

“A section 60 power authorizes officers to stop and search a person if they suspect they may have knives or other weapons that could be used in serious violence in the area.

“In addition to this, they will also have a power under section 60AA which allows officers to ask people to remove face masks if they have reason to believe it is being worn to conceal their identity.”

mpu2

The authorization can last up to 24 hours, after which it can be extended for another 24 hours by a supervisor.

Officers will still follow normal stop-and-frisk processes, including explaining why a person was stopped, recording the interaction on body-worn video and providing a receipt to the person who was stopped, the force added.

If you were in the Stapleton Road/Rawnsley Park area between 4.15am and 5am on Sunday and saw anything suspicious or have any video footage that could help with enquiries, call Avon and Somerset Police on 101 and give the operator reference number 5224148270 .