Police issue statement following ‘concerning’ incident at Manchester Central Mosque

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

A police statement and update has been issued following an incident at Manchester Central Mosque earlier this week.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed that officers were called at around 8:40pm on Tuesday evening (24 February 2026) to reports of concern from security staff at the mosque about a white man in a high-vis jacket carrying ‘a bag with an axe inside’.

The man in question had reportedly claimed to be in the mosque to do work on the building, but staff had no knowledge of this, and so they acted on their suspicions and called police.

There was no suggestion that the man made any threats or confronted members of the congregation, according to GMP, however the force says it understands the alarm that this ‘suspicious and concerning’ behaviour caused for the public.

“We quickly responded to the scene where we searched the suspect, arrested him, and seized weapons – including an axe, a knife and class B drugs,” Assistant Chief Constable, John Webster, said in his statement.

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The police have issued their latest statement following a ‘concerning’ incident at Manchester Central Mosque / Credit: GMP

Although at this point his identity remains unconfirmed, GMP has revealed that the suspect is a white man in his 50s, who has been arrested on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon and class B drugs, and detectives are yet to decipher what the circumstances or intent, if any, are around this incident.

ACC Webster continued: “I know this uncertainty can cause concern, but it is key that we have the time to question the suspect and speak to as many witnesses as possible to understand the nature of this incident. To ensure we are appropriately exploring every line of enquiry, we are working with detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing North West, but it has not been declared a terrorist incident.

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“We are taking this very seriously and have increased patrols around mosques at what we know is a really important time for Muslim communities as they come together during Ramadan.”

Officers say they are reviewing ‘all available CCTV and body-worn video footage’ / Credit: GMP

On top of this, police say they are also reviewing ‘all available CCTV and body-worn video footage’ in an attempt to identify a second man who was reported as acting suspiciously in the mosque at the same time as the suspect, and are calling on the Greater Manchester public for help.

The man is described as black, approximately in his late 40s, with an athletic build and short stubbled facial hair, and was wearing a grey hoody with the hood up, a navy blue jacket with that hood also up, blue tracksuit bottoms, and white trainers at the time.

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Can you help identify this man? An image is expected to be released soon, but in the meantime, anyone with any information is urged to contact police, quoting incident 3279 of 24 February 2026, or you can also call 101 or use the LiveChat function on the GMP website.

Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Featured Image – GMP

War Child UK announce Foo Fighters charity prize draw for sold-out Manchester gig

Danny Jones Danny Jones Foo Fighters Manchester tickets prize draw War Child UK O2 Ritz Manchester gig

Amidst all the live music madness this week, with the intimate BRITs gigs happening, other big city centre shows and, of course, the mighty Foo Fighters coming to town, it can be hard to keep track of everything – but when we heard about a prize draw for free tickets, we couldn’t let you miss it.

That’s right, the Foos and War Child UK are getting ready to hand out limited pairs of tickets to their recently announced gig at the O2 Ritz in Manchester, which sold out in the blink of an eye.

They’re not even performing as part of BRITs Week lineup, but given it’s such a big moment for the city and an opportunity to raise money for the cause, they thought they’d throw their hats in the ring, so long as you chip in on your end.

So, ‘What’s the deal?’, we hear you ask. Well, look no further:

Put simply, all you have to do is enter the prize draw as advertised; plus, you know you’ll be doing your bit for a good cause, too, which is always an added bonus.

Given that the Ritz is already pretty much at capacity (approximately 1,500), they only have a small number of tickets to give away.

There are just four pairs up for grabs, to be specific, but with hundreds of people having already entered the charitable competition, nearly £17,000 has been raised for War Child UK already.

Incredible stuff.

For anyone still unclear on War Child’s mission, the organisation does crucial outreach not only here in Britain but all over the world, delivering emergency aid, specialist mental health support, and much more to children in need whose lives have been torn apart by conflicts across the globe.

This show, which has already generated huge funds towards those efforts through ticket sales, and local band The Covasettes are now even campaigning to get legendary frontman Dave Grohl to join them on stage after their stage times were shifted to make way for the Foo Fighters gig.

Once again, the show itself is fully sold out, and there’s little chance you’ll find spares floating around ahead of a truly massive night.

Better still, if you are after one last lucky shot at getting yourself in that room, why not help raise some money for War Child while you’re at it?

As we’re sure you know, the gig itself is on Friday, but if you want to stand a chance, you must donate and choose your number of entries – £10 for one, three for £20, or £50 for a total of 10 entries – before 10am GMT this Thursday, 26 February.

You can enter right HERE and best of luck!

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Raph_PH (via Flickr)

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