Man arrested over Birmingham stabbings that killed 1 and left 7 injured
A 27-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after one person died and seven were left injured in multiple stabbings across Birmingham.
The man was arrested at an address in the Selly Oak area of the city at about 04:00 BST, West Midlands Police said.
He is also being held over seven counts of attempted murder, police confirmed.
What happened?
The attacks happened in four different locations across the city centre over 90 minutes on Sunday.
The suspect is being questioned in custody.
Police were first called just after 00:30 BST on Sunday at Constitution Hill, where a man sustained a superficial injury.
Around 20 minutes later they were called to Livery Street, near to Snow Hill railway station, where a 19-year-old man was critically injured and a woman was also hurt.
At 01:50 BST, police were sent to Irving Street, where a 23-year-old man suffered fatal injuries and another was seriously injured.
At 02:00 BTS they were called to Hurst Street – in the city’s Gay Village- where a 32-year-old woman was critically injured and two men were injured.
‘Random attack’
The police believe the attack was “random”.
Ch Supt Steve Graham said: “Officers worked through yesterday and into the early hours of this morning in a bid to trace the man we believe responsible for these terrible crimes.
“We issued CCTV footage of the suspect and had a strong response from the public. I’d like to thank everyone who shared our appeal and who provided information to the investigation.
“Clearly this is a crucial development but our investigation continues.”
The public can still help provide information via a hotline number and website.
The streets involved remained closed on Monday morning while investigations continued.
Those 90 minutes do not ‘define Birmingham’
People are questioning how the suspect was able to move around the city for 90 minutes.
Birmingham MP Shabana Mahmood said she “shares the same concerns as everybody else”, but the priority was supporting the police with its investigation.
She said: “There will be a more appropriate stage to have a more forensic sort of detail about the way that the incident unfolded, and also the police response, and I will certainly be asking those questions as well.
“But for now I’m encouraged that there has been a strong response; the police have described a strong response to their CCTV footage appeal.”
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said the incident “does not define Birmingham”.
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