Birmingham stabbings: what we know 48 hours after four arrests and tragic victims named

Four people are in custody in connection with the heinous series of stabbings that shook Birmingham city center on Saturday night.

On September 6, a cutler became involved in a deadly rampage in the city center, leaving eight wounded.

Two were seriously injured, along with a tragic victim, who suffered serious injuries, while the others received what have been called “superficial” injuries.

24 hours ago, in a dramatic 4 a.m. raid on Selly Oak, a man was arrested. The 27-year-old remains in custody being questioned by the police.

Others have also been arrested, a West Midlands Police update confirmed on Monday night (September 7).

One of the victims of the attack has been named: being branded “the light of our life” by heartbroken and grieving relatives.

What happened?

Three people remain in the hospital with serious injuries, including a man who was stabbed on Livery Street and a woman who was stabbed on Hurst Street.

Four others, three men and one woman, were also injured.

Police launched a massive manhunt for a single attacker on Sunday and released CCTV footage of a man they said was wanted on suspicion of murder.

Who has been arrested?

A 27-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder and seven counts of attempted murder following the series of knife attacks remains in custody.

He was pulled over at an address in the Selly Oak area of ​​the city at 4 am.

The force also said that three other people, two men and a woman, were arrested at the same address on suspicion of helping a criminal.

Chief Superintendent Steve Graham said: “It is absolutely shocking that a gathering of friends ends so brutally.”

He said detectives were working to establish what led to the “apparently random attacks,” adding that there was no indication of a racial, gang-related or homophobic motive.

The force declared a major incident after eight victims were stabbed during a riot that lasted about 90 minutes in the city center in the early hours of Sunday.

Officers said they received the first call to Constitution Hill, north of downtown, shortly after 12:30 a.m., where a man had received a superficial wound.

This was followed by a new call 20 minutes later to nearby Livery Street, next to the Snow Hill train station. A 19-year-old man was seriously injured and a woman was also injured.

An hour later, at 1.50 a.m., officers were called to Irving Street, south of downtown, where a man died and another suffered serious injuries.

Ten minutes later, police were called to Hurst Street, in the heart of the city’s Gay Village neighborhood, where a 32-year-old woman was seriously injured and two men suffered minor injuries.

Who was the victim?

23-year-old Jacob Billington was fatally stabbed on Irving Street, Birmingham, around 1.52am on Sunday, while out with old friends from Liverpool school, who were visiting the city, West Midlands police said.

His devastated family paid tribute to Mr. Billington as the “light of our life”.

One of his friends, also 23, was seriously injured and remains in hospital in critical condition, the force added.

In a statement released through the police, Billington’s family said: “Jacob was the light of our life and we have been devastated by his loss.

“He was a fun, loving and wonderful person who was loved by everyone he met.

“He lit up every room with his boundless energy and witty humor and the loss of such a special person will be felt by all who knew him for years to come.”

“We ask that our privacy be respected during this difficult time.”

The force also faces criticism for its response to the attacks, including why the attacker was allowed to roam the city for so long.

What have the witnesses said?

The attacker was “cold” and “calm” when he left the scene, walking down the street, said Savvas Sfrantzis, a restaurant owner.

When a heroic bar manager told the killer “I recognize your face,” the man holding a knife replied “whatever,” Sfrantzis added.

The 64-year-old man, a veteran of the city’s licensed trade, said it was around 1.55 a.m. when he turned when a woman behind him yelled from across Hurst Street.

Mr. Sfrantzis said, “I heard the scream, so I looked around and looked the other way and I could see where the screams were coming from.”

He said there was a girl with her back against some shutters and a man very close to her.

“So I’m thinking, ‘Either they’re fighting and he’s the boyfriend or he’s trying to rob him.’

“She screamed a lot and very loud.

“I looked at him, right in front of him, and I can see that he had a blade, small, not very big, and he was stabbing her in the neck.

“It happened really fast and then you know the girl is going down (to the ground) after a few minutes and I can see the attacker.”

Mr. Sfrantzis added: “He started walking, not even running or trying to hide, as if nothing had happened.

“I never heard him say anything except when she started screaming, and the Sidewalk (nightclub) manager – told the attacker ‘you stabbed the girl.’

“The guy walks down the street, smiling and walking, slowly.”

He said the Sidewalk manager and another man tried to pursue the attacker.

“He started walking faster, they kept their distance because he had a knife.

“So he walked down past Hurst Street and the Gay Village.

“The Sidewalk manager came back and said ‘we chased him behind Eden (another nightclub) and I lost him.’

Sfrantzis, owner and manager of Santorinis and Mykonos bar and grill, said the man returned and the Sidewalk manager confronted him once more with courage.

“The manager said to this guy, ‘I know your face, I know what you look like,’ and the attacker said ‘whatever,'” Sfrantzis added.

The 64-year-old said: “I saw another man wrapped, in a wheelchair, his whole body was bloody, he was badly stabbed but he kept talking, screaming.”

“I was screaming, I was fucking stabbed,” he added.

Mr. Sfrantzis also recounted how the girl was stabbed between five and seven times.

He described how police arrived “almost immediately” and handed over his bar’s CCTV to detectives in an attempt to aid in the chase.

Mr. Sfrantzis, who had not slept since the incident, said: “It’s very shocking and it’s a shame, because the guy, to my knowledge, has yet to be caught.

“But he wasn’t trying to run or run, when you stabbed someone you think you’re trying to hide and run.

“He was just smiling.

“I’ve had restaurants for 30 years, and I’ve never seen anything like it, I’ve seen fights, I’ve seen arguments.

“But, so cold, you know?

“The guy was out of this world, he didn’t give a damn what happened.

“Just smile and laugh.”

Who were the other victims?

Michael Callaghan was one of eight people injured when a series of knife attacks took place in Birmingham in the early hours of Sunday.

The attacks, which have shocked the city, claimed the life of Michael’s close friend, Jacob Billington, who was also visiting the city center from Liverpool.

Since then, a man has been arrested in connection with the incident.

Meanwhile, Michael’s loved ones have described “every family’s worst nightmare,” but accept that it could have been worse had it not been for the bravery of the paramedics and a few friends.

Peter Harvey, the 23-year-old’s uncle, spoke to the Liverpool Echo after it was confirmed that Jacob had tragically died.

He said: “This horrible attack is the worst nightmare of any family: the case of a group of friends who have the misfortune to run into the wrong person at the wrong time, a disgusting tragedy that none of them could have foreseen or prevented.

“The rise in knife crime is a scourge that destroys lives, often the lives of innocent youth. This was a random, sudden and seemingly motiveless attack by a stranger.

“In Michael’s case, his friends quickly stopped the loss of blood from a neck injury, before the arrival of emergency services. The actions of his friends, paramedics, and hospital staff saved Michael’s life.

“The friends showed admirable courage in trying to resurrect Jacob, sadly without success. Jacob was popular, funny and caring, a young man with a strong sense of kindness, decency and social justice. “

Michael and Jacob, who was also 23, had been friends during their school days at Great Crosby Elementary School and Sacred Heart Catholic College.

They then attended college together in Sheffield and formed a band, The Vedetts, with other friends, performing as recently as the weekend before. Michael is the lead singer and guitarist of the group, and Jacob was the drummer.

Jacob had been working at Sheffield Hallam University, while Michael, an engineering graduate, had recently started working at the NHS in Merseyside.

The couple were part of a group of six friends from Liverpool who joined a friend who was studying here.

What did the police say?

After the arrest, Chief Superintendent Graham said: “Officers worked through yesterday and into the early hours of this morning in an attempt to locate the man we believe responsible for these terrible crimes.

“We posted CCTV footage of the suspect and got a strong response from the public. I would like to thank everyone who shared our appeal and provided information to the investigation.

“A line of investigation finally led us to an address in the Selly Oak area this morning where a man was arrested.

“This is clearly a crucial advance, but our investigation continues.”

Have you faced any criticism?

A police chief attacked “misinformed criticism” of his officers’ response to the knife attacks in Birmingham, amid claims that alleged delays may have cost a man his life.

Khalid Mahmood, Birmingham Labor MP Perry Barr, told The Times: “Potentially, if the alarm had been triggered early enough, the individual who has now passed away could have been saved.”

There has also been criticism from the public about the time it took to broadcast CCTV footage of a suspect.

What has been your defense?

David Thompson, who heads West Midlands Police, said there would be a “time and place to review the actions” of the police, after a 23-year-old man was killed and seven others injured, some critically, during a series of stabbings. on Sunday.

But he said: “Engaging in misinformed criticism of this investigation, particularly at such an early stage, is futile and simply makes the job of the police difficult.”