A manhunt for a masked attacker who allegedly stabbed a 70-year-old woman in her garden has rolled into its fourth day, police have said.
Officers descended on Crow Hill South in Middleton, a leafy suburb of Manchester, on Thursday morning after a pensioner was attacked with a knife while gardening outside her home.
The woman was attacked from behind and stabbed in the bottom of her neck, the Manchester Evening News reported on Sunday - though police said she did not receive serious injuries.
Legions of officers, including a police helicopter, then arrived on the scene as the attacker fled - while nearby Alkrington Primary School was locked down.
Petr Klasa, 39, who lives opposite the school, said: "All of a sudden we saw masked police with with their weapons in the street outside the school. It was pretty frightening. They were armed with automatic weapons and the helicopter was here too."
Another man whose parents live on Crow Hill South said: "My mum and dad live there and they are frightened to death. It's quite an affluent area and there are lots of elderly residents.
"It's very rare something like this happens there... They're frightened to go into their gardens. My dad was going to wash his car today and he's staying in."
More residents came forward to share doorbell camera footage of the assailant - which was released on Sunday by Greater Manchester Police.
MORE LIKE THIS FROM MANCHESTER:
"Officers continue to trawl through hundreds of hours of CCTV and extra resources have been dedicated to this to ensure we can build a detailed timeline of events which led to this incident, and the suspect's movements thereafter," a GMP statement said.
"We continue to work closely with the victim to support her at what is a distressing time.
"Police have now released a video of a man they would like to speak to as they believe he may be able to assist with enquiries. If you recognise anything about this man, please get in touch with us."
The force, which confirmed to GB News on Monday that the manhunt was still ongoing, has told the public to get in touch online or via 101 quoting log 1007 of 06/03/25.
Detective Inspector Kimberley Hines from GMP's Rochdale district said: “We do believe this to be an unprovoked attack which has left a woman incredibly shaken.
"We know that hearing about this incident will be concerning for our communities, but I want to assure you that extensive work is underway to locate the suspect, and we have additional patrols in the area to speak to residents and offer support.
"We have a team of detectives and police officers working around the clock to identify who is responsible for this attack, and we are appealing to the public who may be able to assist us.
"We have released footage of a man we would like to speak to, as we believe he could have information which is relevant to our investigation. Whilst you cannot see his face in the video, we ask if anyone recognises the clothing or perhaps his build, and can help us identify him - please come forward."
Find Out More...
Officers descended on Crow Hill South in Middleton, a leafy suburb of Manchester, on Thursday morning after a pensioner was attacked with a knife while gardening outside her home.
The woman was attacked from behind and stabbed in the bottom of her neck, the Manchester Evening News reported on Sunday - though police said she did not receive serious injuries.
Legions of officers, including a police helicopter, then arrived on the scene as the attacker fled - while nearby Alkrington Primary School was locked down.
Petr Klasa, 39, who lives opposite the school, said: "All of a sudden we saw masked police with with their weapons in the street outside the school. It was pretty frightening. They were armed with automatic weapons and the helicopter was here too."
Another man whose parents live on Crow Hill South said: "My mum and dad live there and they are frightened to death. It's quite an affluent area and there are lots of elderly residents.
"It's very rare something like this happens there... They're frightened to go into their gardens. My dad was going to wash his car today and he's staying in."
More residents came forward to share doorbell camera footage of the assailant - which was released on Sunday by Greater Manchester Police.
MORE LIKE THIS FROM MANCHESTER:
- Police officer left seriously injured after 'shocking' ramming attack - Teenager, 19, arrested
- Girl, 11, grabbed by man and woman in attempted abduction as she was walking to school
- Man charged with attempted murder after nurse left with life-changing injuries after hospital horror
"Officers continue to trawl through hundreds of hours of CCTV and extra resources have been dedicated to this to ensure we can build a detailed timeline of events which led to this incident, and the suspect's movements thereafter," a GMP statement said.
"We continue to work closely with the victim to support her at what is a distressing time.
"Police have now released a video of a man they would like to speak to as they believe he may be able to assist with enquiries. If you recognise anything about this man, please get in touch with us."
The force, which confirmed to GB News on Monday that the manhunt was still ongoing, has told the public to get in touch online or via 101 quoting log 1007 of 06/03/25.
Detective Inspector Kimberley Hines from GMP's Rochdale district said: “We do believe this to be an unprovoked attack which has left a woman incredibly shaken.
"We know that hearing about this incident will be concerning for our communities, but I want to assure you that extensive work is underway to locate the suspect, and we have additional patrols in the area to speak to residents and offer support.
"We have a team of detectives and police officers working around the clock to identify who is responsible for this attack, and we are appealing to the public who may be able to assist us.
"We have released footage of a man we would like to speak to, as we believe he could have information which is relevant to our investigation. Whilst you cannot see his face in the video, we ask if anyone recognises the clothing or perhaps his build, and can help us identify him - please come forward."
Find Out More...