Man arrested in connection with attack – one of several incidents in four cities that have left left two dead and several injured

A man has been arrested in connection with the stabbing of a 14-year-old boy outside a mosque in Birmingham.

The attack, which left the teenager in a critical condition, was one of several violent incidents in four cities that left two people dead and several others injured on Friday night and the early hours of Saturday.



West Midlands police said a 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder on Saturday morning and is in custody.

Police said the teenager suffered several stab wounds in the attack in the Small Heath area shortly after 1am on Saturday and was taken to hospital by paramedics. A cordon has been put in place at the scene in Herbert Road while specialist teams carry out forensic investigations.

Police said they were not treating the attack as a terrorist incident but the motivation remained unclear. One line of inquiry was that the incident could have been a racially motivated hate crime.

The incident occurred when the boy was dropped off at the Idaara Maarif-e-Islam mosque, commonly known as Hussainia, by his father, who went to park the car.

Azhar Kiana, the president of the mosque, told the Birmingham Mail: “It happened on the pavement. By the time the dad parked his car his son was on the floor. There was a young man who was brutally beating the boy with a knife.

“There was blood everywhere, he was hitting the boy’s neck and head. Then the attacker ran off and got into a car.”

Harun Khan, the secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, expressed his shock in a tweet:



Harun Khan (@harakha) Shocked to hear reports of a stabbing outside a mosque in #Birmingham last night. Monitoring situation. Praying for victim and family.

DI Jim Colclough from the complex crime investigation team at Bournville Lane police station said: “Our investigation is progressing quickly but it is still in the early stages. We do not believe it to be terror-related. The motivation for the attack is not yet known. We are keeping an open mind as to whether it could be racially or religiously motivated.”

Colclough said officers were working closely with local communities and had increased police presence in the area to provide reassurance. “It is a tragic event which has left a young boy in hospital fighting for his life,” he said. “We’ve spoken to a number of witnesses but would continue to urge anyone who was in the area and saw what happened, or has any other information which may help our investigation, to contact me or my team on 101 or to call Crimestoppers as soon as possible.”

Amjad Shah, general secretary of Hussainia mosque, confirmed that the boy was a member of their congregation. “This was a cowardly and unprovoked attack and the victim is critically ill in hospital. The board of trustees and the entire community is praying for his swift recovery. Our sympathies are extended to the victim’s family.”

He reiterated that the motive behind the attack was unclear. “Background checks so far have not associated the suspect with any particular mosque or community,” he said. “The board of trustees emphasises that whatever the motive behind this attack, it should not be sensationalised or used as a justification to spread hatred or incite violence. Hussainia mosque will not tolerate the disturbance of the communal harmony between the various communities that share this geography.”

Meanwhile, two 21-year-old men have been killed in London and Manchester. In London a murder investigation has been launched after a man, who has not been named, was found with stab wounds and later died.

Police were called to reports of a disturbance in Ropery Street in Bow at about 2.30am on Saturday. They found the victim, who had been stabbed in nearby Eric Street.

He was treated at the scene by paramedics from the London Air Ambulance service before being taken to hospital, where he died at 4.52am.

A Met police spokesman said no arrests had been made. “His next of kin have been informed. Formal identification is yet to take place. A postmortem examination will be held in due course.”

In Manchester, police are appealing for witnesses after a man was fatally stabbed during a large fight near Deansgate in the city centre.



At about 2.50am police were called to reports of a large fight involving men and women, which is believed to have begun in the Suburbia nightclub.

A 21-year-old man was treated for stab wounds to his neck at the scene but died as a result of his injuries.

Several other people were taken to hospital with injuries, including a man who had been hit with a glass and two women, aged 19 and 21, who were left unconscious after being punched.

In Sheffield five people have been injured in two linked stabbing incidents in the city centre. Four people have been arrested in connection with the incidents, which took place early on Saturday morning, according to South Yorkshire police.

In a series of tweets, the force said: “We are dealing with two linked stabbing incidents in Sheffield city centre in the early hours of Saturday 30. Five people were injured.

“Four people have been arrested and detained in relation to the stabbing incidents in Sheffield early this morning. One person was critically injured and is in a serious but stable condition in hospital.”

A police cordon remained in place and police vans were at the scene. Forensic officers could be seen closely examining items within the cordon, which were surrounded by blood, in an area of the city centre that is popular for its nightlife.





