West Midlands Police, the local force that covers the Birmingham area, said its officers were called to reports of a stabbing in the city center at 12:30 a.m. local time on Sunday morning.

"We can now confirm that we have launched a murder investigation following last night's events," they said in a statement. "A man has died, and another man and woman have suffered serious injuries. Five others have also been injured."

Chief Superintendent Steve Graham of West Midlands Police said there was "no suggestion at all that this was terror-related."

"It does appear to be a random attack," he said.

Read more: UK — Fears of resurgent terrorism as COVID-19 lockdown ends

Birmingham, some 163 kilometers (101 miles) northwest of London, is widely known as England's second city. The area where the stabbings happened is known locally as the Arcadian Center, where the city's Gay Village and Chinese quarter meet.

'It was quite a street fight'

Eyewitness Cara Curran, a nightclub promoter, had been working there on Saturday night. She told the AFP news agency that she had seen "groups upon groups" of people fighting in and around the venues.

"I had left with my boyfriend. I heard a commotion and saw multiple police coming towards our direction. I headed towards where I saw them coming and it all just unfurled in front of me.

"It was quite a street fight. It did not really look like fighting. It was just multiple people on top of each other, not one on one."

Passersby fled the violence, as police and other emergency services arrived quickly and cordoned off the area. Forensic specialists were at the scene by mid-morning.

Read more: Far-right protesters clash with UK police at anti-migrant march

"The motivation is not yet understood," said Andy Street, the mayor of the West Midlands region, after a police briefing. "The area is calm and the public has been told to go about their business but remain vigilant."

Officers have been unable to confirm speculation that gunshots were heard in the area in and around the time of the stabbings.

"This has not been reported to us at this stage," the force wrote on Twitter early on Sunday.

jf/rc (AFP, Reuters)