A 33-year-old man suspected of a brutal attack on a mother-of-two was caught by police after a high-speed car chase across Belfast.
Stephen McFarlane was last night under police guard in Ulster Hospital after being cornered by two PSNI cars which trapped his white Audi A6 in a cul-de-sac opposite Connswater Shopping Centre on Newtownards Road in east Belfast.
He was taken from the scene by ambulance.
Mr McFarlane was being hunted by police after a 26-year-old woman was stabbed multiple times in a brutal attack in her Ashgrove Road home in the Carnmoney area of Glengormley, on the outskirts of north Belfast at 8.35pm on Wednesday evening.
Neighbours are said to have heard the victim, a popular classroom assistant, screaming for help.
She was reportedly unconscious by the time emergency services arrived on the house, by which time her assailant had fled the scene.
Last night, she remained in a critical but stable condition at the Royal Victoria Hospital.
In the days following the attack, Mr McFarlane was seen several times in his distinctive car in the Newtownabbey area.
The PSNI had issued a picture of the mechanic on Thursday and yesterday morning distributed a photograph of a similar car - but warned people to stay clear of the fugitive.
According to a number of witnesses, the police car pursuit started on Monkstown Road, before crossing from the north to the east of the city and passing along Dee Street and ending on the Newtownards Road at around 2pm.
Detective Inspector Chris Millar said the successful conclusion to the manhunt had been aided by the support of the public.
"I would like to thank the public and the media for their assistance in this matter," he said.
"We received a number of calls from members of the public throughout our search and we are grateful for that co-operation. Our investigation into this serious assault will now continue.”
North Belfast DUP assembly member Paula Bradley said the arrest had been met by "a great sense of relief in the local community".
"There has been widespread revulsion at the violent nature of this attack and the public appear to have been very responsive to the appeal from the police for information regarding the whereabouts of this suspect," she said.
"It is important that the police are now allowed the time to carry out their investigations and see that justice is delivered in this case.
"The continued thoughts and prayers of everyone in the area are with the young mother who was the victim of this dreadful crime."
