The 14-year-old teenager being held after a 12-year-old boy was stabbed to death in Birmingham is also being held over an assault on a woman in her 80s, police have said.
The 14-year-old boy is alleged to have carried out the attack in the same Hall Green area of the city on Sunday.
Yesterday a 12-year-old boy, who has not been named, was found with serious injuries near Scribers Lane in Hall Green shortly after 3pm.
Emergency services were called at 3.44pm and the boy was taken to hospital with stab wounds to the stomach, but later died.
Chief Superintendent Richard North told a press conference today that a member of the public tried to help the boy at the scene before emergency services arrived.
He said a passer-by had attempted to administer aid amid the ‘chaotic and absolutely traumatic scene’, adding: ‘Sadly, despite the best efforts of police officers and paramedics who treated him at the scene, he lost his life later that day at about 7.30pm.’
Mr North told reporters: ‘As a result of urgent inquiries, a boy aged 14 has been arrested. That happened at 7pm yesterday at an address in Birmingham.
‘He remains in custody and has been arrested on suspicion of murder. The same 14-year-old has also been arrested for another assault, for an unrelated matter. He is also in custody for that.’
A 14-year-old boy arrested over a fatal stabbing is also being held over an assault on a pensioner, police said today
Flowers have been laid at the scene near Scribers Lane in the Hall Green area of Birmingham
A 12-year-old boy was stabbed near a primary school in Birmingham on Tuesday
Appealing for witnesses and information about the fatal stabbing, Mr North said: ‘This is an absolutely appalling incident. We have got specialist detectives working on the inquiry, but also supporting the loved ones of the 12-year-old that has very, very sadly and tragically lost his life.’
The officer said: ‘I would ask the public not to speculate about what happened – this is a very early stage of the inquiry. We are obviously dealing with it with a tremendous amount of priority.
‘Detectives are working around the clock to get to the truth of what happened.’
He added: ‘What I would urge is that anyone who was in the area of Scribers Lane at around that time – the incident happened at 3.40pm – get in touch with us and let us know where they were, if they saw anything unusual or suspicious.
‘We have set up a major incident public portal, which can be found on our website. People can find that and they can upload information directly on to that. It might be CCTV they have, phone footage or dashcam footage.’
In a written statement issued to BBC News, a member of the victim’s family described him as ‘the most beautiful, kind child’, and ‘the nicest kid you would meet’.
The family member added that the boy was ‘funny, sweet and had not one aggressive bone in his body’, and had been walking a 10-minute route home.
A member of the public leaves flowers at the crime scene on Wednesday morning
Chief Superintendent Richard North speaking to the media at the scene near Scribers Lane in the Hall Green area of Birmingham
Police have cordoned off several entrances to the Shire Country Park, which includes a stretch of the River Cole.
Residents living near a riverside path leading into a wooded area of the park spoke of their shock at discovering the victim’s age and that he had died from his injuries.
One resident, who declined to give her name, said a member of the public had knocked on her door shortly after 3pm on Tuesday asking for the area’s postcode to assist emergency services in reaching the scene.
She told reporters: ‘The first thing I knew was a gentleman came and asked for the postcode as somebody had been injured. He just came and knocked the door.
‘We had two police cars and then a helicopter. I found out somebody had been stabbed last night but it wasn’t till this morning that I realised the poor little soul had died.’
Another woman, who said her son was in the same school class as the 12-year-old who died, said she believed the victim was walking home through the park.
Some areas of the park where the attack happened, close to Trittiford Mill pool, had been plagued in the past by anti-social behaviour involving local youths, some riding quad bikes, one resident claimed.
‘It’s been a weekly occurrence,’ the woman said. ‘It’s a short-cut for school children before and after school, but sometimes there are people just hanging around near a car.’
When asked about the individuals involved, Chf Supt North added: ‘All we’re going to confirm is that it’s a 12-year-old boy and we’re working through those enquiries.
A police officer at the scene on Scribers Lane in the Hall Green area of Birmingham where a 12-year-old boy was stabbed
The boy was attacked near Scribers Lane in Hall Green, Birmingham, yesterday
West Midlands Police hold a crime scene on Scribers Lane in the Hall Green area
‘We’re obviously working with his loved ones, his carers and his family. When we’ve progressed that, then maybe we will be able to release more information.
‘But at this stage we’re working with them.’
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesperson said: ‘We were called to reports of a stabbing on Scribers Park Lane at 3.31pm yesterday.
‘One ambulance, a paramedic officer and a MERIT trauma doctor with a Critical Care Paramedic attended the scene. On arrival we discovered one patient, a boy.
‘Ambulance staff administered emergency treatment at the scene before transporting the boy to hospital.’
The Birmingham school attended by the 12-year-old has shared its ‘condolences and deepest sympathies’ after the tragedy.
Christ Church, Church of England Secondary Academy in Yardley Wood shared a statement on its website following the death of a 12-year-old pupil near Scribers Lane in Hall Green on Tuesday.
The statement said: ‘Our condolences and deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends of one of our CCSA students.
Police continued to attend the crime scene on Wednesday following the stabbing
A police dog handler was spotted at the scene of the fatal stabbing this morning
‘This is a very sad time for our school community and we are focusing on supporting our students, staff and families with professional support.
‘As this is a live police investigation, we are unable to share any further details with you.
‘At this difficult time, we would urge parents and carers not to contact the school office unless it is for an emergency.’
The fatal stabbing happened on the day that MPs were told following the Southport murders that a ban on knife sales to under-18s has not proved effective.
The sale of knives with a fixed blade of more than three inches long to under-18s is illegal in England and Wales, with retailers facing fines or prosecution if they breach the law.
But Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has revealed that Southport killer Axel Rudakubana was ‘easily able to order a knife on Amazon’, when he was still aged 17 and had been convicted over violence.
She told MPs: ‘That’s a total disgrace and it must change. So, we will bring in stronger measures to tackle knife sales online in the Crime and Policing Bill this spring.’
Police are asking anyone with information to use the major incident public portal or call 101 quoting log 3324 of January 21.
