Indigo closed after stabbing by ‘member of south Manchester gang’

Indigo, Withington’s student club, witnessed the stabbing of two men by an alleged gang member on January 30th. The club is expected to remain closed until February 17th.

Council documents report that two students were stabbed in the neck and face. Council documents say that one of the victims suffered an 8” x 2” slash wound to his neck, which was ‘perilously close’ to his carotid artery. The other suffered a slash wound to his face which was 3” x 1” in size.

The club could now potentially lose its licences after the attacks. GMP  have said they are ‘extremely concerned’ and have requested an urgent review of the clubs licence, due to fears that there may be repercussions and that staff and customers could be placed in danger if the nightspot was to regain its full licence.

The Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have reported that the night on which the incident happened was treated as a memorial to a deceased gang member, murdered a few years ago. As a result, numerous members of a locally organised crime group were reportedly out to celebrate.

A police officer on the night saw the offender running away and chased him through several rear gardens before running into a house and straight through and out the other side. He was detained by police shortly after this.

The police have since arrested the alleged offender on suspicion of two counts of attempted murder.

The case will be discussed by the Manchester council licencing committee on February 17th who are to review whether the club will reopen. The panel have described the attack as “a very serious incident”.

A solicitor for Indigo said the owners are ‘absolutely devastated’ that the incident took place in their club, and that their first thoughts are with the victims. Indigo released a statement the day after the attack:

“Due to a serious assault that took place last night, we have agreed with GMP to close Indigo until further notice.
The safety of our customers is our highest priority. Everyone at Indigo hopes all involved in the early hours of this morning make a speedy recovery.

Further statements & updates will be published once we have more information.”

The Manchester-based all-female collective Not Bad For A Girl posted a message in support of the venue: “We love Indigo, it was the first place we ever ran an event and we wish them the best of luck in everything.”