Hampshire Constabulary confirmed by 4 February 2026 that a ninth person has been arrested in connection with a serious stabbing near Arundel Street Garden in Landport, Portsmouth.
The latest arrest brings the total number of people detained in the investigation to nine — a group that includes teenagers aged 13 to 16 and a 19-year-old man. Detectives say they are working to establish the role each person played in the attack, in which a 50-year-old man was found with stab wounds to his abdomen and taken to hospital with life-changing injuries.
The area — near the Landport Community Centre and the city centre — previously received Safer Streets funding arranged by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire to improve lighting, CCTV and other crime-prevention measures in the Paradise/Arundel Street area.
Local reporting has noted previous serious assaults in this part of the city. Police and local outlets have appealed for witnesses: Hampshire Constabulary and BBC coverage have asked anyone with CCTV, dashcam, doorbell or mobile phone footage from around 16:00 GMT on 28 January, or anyone who was in the Arundel Street Garden or surrounding area at or after that time, to contact police quoting investigation reference 44260048417.
Crime statistics for Portsmouth are mixed depending on the measure used. CrimeRate’s Portsmouth profile reports 11,060 violent and sexual offences in 2025, a small year‑on‑year decrease (about 1.7%), while locally focused reporting and community leaders have expressed concern about recurring violence in the Landport/city-centre precincts.
Anyone with information is asked to call 101 or report online to Hampshire Constabulary, quoting reference 44260048417, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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