Police forces unite to arrest carjacker who stole taxi at knifepoint
The incident happened in Manchester, but the man was found in the West Midlands
Greater Manchester Police have found a man who stole a taxi and robbed a shop at knifepoint before fleeing to the West Midlands.
Police in Manchester first received reports of a multi-vehicle road traffic collision that took place at 9:20p.m. on Friday evening (February 16th), caused by a driver that had been travelling at high speeds.
When officers arrived at the scene on Regent's Road in Salford, they thankfully found that none of the injuries sustained by those involved in the crash were life-threatening.
The driver of the car then made off on foot as police started to give chase. As he ran away from the scene, he held a taxi driver at knifepoint and told to hand over the keys, before making off with the car.
After taking the taxi, the offender drove into the city centre, with police officers searching the area for the suspect. However, responders were unable to locate him.
However, later in the evening at around 11pm, the taxi had been flagged down and stopped by West Midlands Police after the getaway car was spotted travelling down the M6.
The force said it had arrested a 29-year-old man on suspicion of robbery and wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
West Midlands Police is currently working to transfer him to the Greater Manchester Police system and will be remanded in custody for questioning.
Speaking on the incident, Chief Inspector Simon Ashcroft from Greater Manchester Police’s Salford district explained: "This is understandably a terrifying ordeal for those involved last night, but after a swift response by our dedicated local officers and the support of the wider force, we were not only able to manage the scene effectively, we also detained the suspect with assistance from colleagues in another force before any further harm could be caused.
“I hope this result shows that we will use all the resources available to us to detect and detain offenders quickly who are intent on causing unnecessary harm to innocent members of the public," he continued.
Police are now appealing for information in regard to the incident, with anyone who may have dashcam footage of the area around the time of the initial crash being urged to get in touch.
Anyone with any relevant information can speak to the force by calling 101 and quoting incident reference number 3337 on February 16th, 2024.