Police cordon off road in Barton after incident

Bayswater Road in Barton has been shut off to the public between the Waynflete Road junctions with a heavy police presence in place. 

UPDATE: Murder investigation launched after a man was stabbed to death in Oxford tonight

Officers were called just before 6pm on Friday to reports of a man being stabbed.

The victim, a man aged in his thirties, died of his injuries at the scene.

His next of kin have been informed, police said.

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Nick Hind, of Thames Valley Police’s Major Crime Unit, said: “Tragically, as a result of an incident this evening, a man has suffered fatal injuries.

“First and foremost, our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim who has died.

“We are in the very early stages of this investigation and we are working to establish the circumstances of exactly what has happened.

“We have a large scene-watch in place in the Bayswater Road area of Oxford and the adjacent park.

“Bayswater Road is currently closed from the crematorium to Waynflete Road, and this area, and the park is likely to remain cordoned off for a considerable period of time while our investigation continues.

“At this early stage of our investigation, we have not made any arrests, and I would appeal to anybody who has any information or who witnessed the incident to please contact the force on 101, quoting incident reference 1694 of 8 October."

A passer-by Damian Tarnowski - who was at the scene at around 7.20pm - said the incident 'looked very serious' as he saw about 11 police officers and more arriving.

PICTURES: Forensics officers at scene of murder

He said he was told by a policeman that he could not pass and that there was no through road towards Islip.

He said: "It must be very serious as I have never seen this many police cars as well as officers. The road looks to be closed for the rest of the night for further investigation."

Bayswater Road is likely to remain closed for some time.