Three people were stabbed in London this morning in what has been described as a suspected robbery.
Police said the incident, outside a busy office in the city, is not terror-related.
City of London Police said on Twitter it had received reports of three stabbings and a person pushed to the floor on Bishopsgate at 9.46am.
It will raise questions about how much of the alleged incident and the lead-up to it will have been captured on camera and if facial recognition technology will stepped up.
CCTV camera footage will be examined to trace the assailant/s.
Three people were taken for treatment at a nearby hospital and officers have cordoned off the area.
A City of London Police statement said: “We received reports of three stabbings and a person pushed to the floor on Bishopsgate at 9.46am and officers arrived at the scene at 9.51am.
“Three victims were taken by LAS to a nearby hospital to be treated.
“This is an ongoing situation, but is not being treated as terror-related.”
What triggered the incident unclear but online reports suggest it could have been triggered by a row over an attempted theft.
Accounts suggested two people on electric bikes tried to steal someone’s phone and two or more by-standers intervened. It happened outside a building housing firms such as Hiscox and Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Limited, as well as law firms such as Cooley LLP and Covington & Burling LLP.
Nickie Aiken, the Conservative MP for Cities of London and Westminster said she was in contact with police about the “concerning” incident.
Some office workers have been requested to temporarily stay inside their offices.
There have been no reports of ant arrests.
London Ambulance Service confirmed it sent three ambulance crews, two advanced paramedics, two incident response officers, a clinical team manager and members of its Tactical Response Unit.