POLICE hunting the machete attacker who wounded seven people at an infants' school in Wolverhampton arrested a man last night after raiding a block of flats.
A group of 30 officers in full riot gear returned to the tower block near the school after two searches in the 27 hours since the attack. They took away a man 20 minutes later as a crowd gathered in the street shouting abuse.
The man Mr Horrett Irving Campbell (32), was taken away from Villiers House where he lives. He had been earlier named by police as a man they wanted to interview about the attack. He was found in a cupboard in the corridor of the ninth floor of the block.
After the arrest a knife and a screwdriver were recovered from the scene, police said.
The machete attacker was seen to go into the flats after the attack on Monday afternoon.
The arrest came nearly 30 hours after the attack on St Luke's Infants School, in the Blakenhall area of Wolverhampton which left three children and four adults inured.
Supt Richard Green, of West Midlands police, said: "A man has been detained in connection with the incident at St Luke's School yesterday afternoon.
"He was arrested as a result of a continuation of the search we conducted earlier today. We found him within the premises of Villiers House and we are still dealing with the crime scene at this stage."
Police had warned against vigilante operations after angry residents threatened to track the attacker down themselves.
With feelings running high, locals criticised the police and there were threats that groups of armed men would start their own searches last night.
A police spokesman said there appeared to be no sign of injuries on the arrested man.
Local residents described Campbell as a quiet man who kept himself to himself and spent a lot of time tinkering with his orange Volvo car.
The school's headmistress, Ms Denise Bennett, fought back tears yesterday as she described Monday's terrifying attack at her school. "A gentleman leapt a wall and a fence and just began hacking at staff and children and parents with a machete.
"Staff acted immediately to drag children and parents indoors, and some of the fathers did actually chase the man off the premises.
It was a horrendous scene, scenes I hope we never see again.
The heightening tension followed a day during which demands mounted for swift government action to strengthen school security.