Over the course of just 72 hours, Greater Manchester Police dealt with two deaths, an armed siege and huge numbers of visitors to the Christmas Markets
This is the timeline of how events unravelled:
Saturday, 6.30pm - The Christmas Markets stop serving alcohol
3am Sunday - The city centre woke to news of another tragedy on Sunday morning. A man died after a hit-and-run on Deansgate - a 15-year-old and a 19-year-old were arrested on suspicion of murder
Tonight the Manchester Evening News has published a special report from @PaulBrittonMEN. This is one of the most heart breaking and important stories we've published in some time. Here follows a short thread:
@PaulBrittonMEN 1/10 This is Karen McBride, a mum-of-four who was found dead at her home after years of struggle and fear over money and 'uninhabitable' living conditions.
2/10 Karen was, by all accounts, a remarkable person. Her direct experiences of inadequate housing and poverty led her to become a prominent and respected anti-poverty campaigner.
Last night, the medical director of North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) shared a sombre message as he stood outside in the freezing cold. 1/13
Looking into the camera of a mobile phone, he admitted that 111 and 999 services were being overwhelmed. 2/13
This evening in Greater Manchester a creaking system limps on with NHS staff under immense pressure, and no sign of things improving. So how did we get here? 3/13