Sheffield McDonald's machete attack: Customers flee as man 'slashed in face'

Man, 21, held on suspicion of attemped murder after diners 'run for their lives' from restaurant

A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following a machete attack at a McDonald’s in Sheffield city centre.

Witnesses said customers “ran for their lives” after a man entered the fast-food restaurant and knifed a diner in the head on Thursday morning.

“In McDonald’s in High Street in Sheffield and a bloke just ran in and slashed a guy across the face with a machete,” a woman tweeted.

A 47-year-old man suffered injuries not thought to be life-threatening and was taken to hospital. He was pictured bleeding heavily from the head as he walked out of the restaurant with paramedics.

South Yorkshire Police said a 21-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, possession of a knife, and possession of drugs.

He was "carted off in a riot van" after being Tasered by officers, according to witnesses, and was due to be questioned by officers in custody on Thursday afternoon.

George Speight, who was buying a coffee in McDonald's, said: "I turned round to see what the commotion was. There was a coloured guy stood with a big machete, about 15in long.

"And then there's a bloke running towards me with his face slashed all down one side. The manager and me ran towards the door, we locked the door.

"The next thing, the coppers have Tasered [the attacker] and jumped on him."

The McDonald's restaurant and the surrounding pavement was cordoned off by officers.

Police forensics workers at the scene of machete attack in Sheffield (Twitter/@mrst43)

Local newspaper The Star reported part of the city centre was briefly “placed on lockdown” and employees were told not to leave their buildings.

Shoppers scattered and nearby stores locked their doors as the attacker brandished the weapon in the street.

A witness told the newspaper people “ran for their lives” as the knife man entered McDonald’s.

One woman said she saw a man brandishing what she thought was a sword as she walked past on her way to work.

"We were so scared," she added. "We thought he was going kill everyone."

Another said: “We didn’t realise what was happening at first but some bloke went in McDonald’s with a machete and has done someone.”

South Yorkshire Police said officers were called to reports of a man with a machete at 9.25am.

Superintendent Paul McCurry said: “The CCTV operatives in Sheffield spotted a man with a machete, as a result they alerted police on the radio and nearby officers were on scene within less than two minutes of the call.

“They quickly detained the offender, placing the safety of the public over their own without hesitation. This is a superb example of the bravery of police officers who every day do amazing work to protect the public.”

Police said the attack was not thought to be linked to terrorism.

A McDonald's spokesman said: "We can confirm that an incident which started outside our Sheffield High Street restaurant this morning resulted in the police being called and the restaurant being closed to allow them to investigate.

"We are supporting our restaurant team who were working at the time of the incident.”