Machete attack shuts Lye High Street as man left seriously injured
A shopkeeper was attacked by a gang wielding baseball bats and a machete in broad daylight on a Black Country high street.
The man, named locally as Mohammed Taz, aged 36, suffered head injuries in the attack in High Street, Lye, around 9.30am today.
Shocked workers from neighbouring businesses described seeing five men, wearing balaclavas and armed with weapons, pile out of a car and head into The Fruit Shop which Mr Taz has run for more than 20 years.
The victim ran to the Nisa shop across the road before the police were called as the attackers fled in a black car. He was seen covered in blood outside his shop before paramedics arrived.
Police said the incident was thought to be be a 'targeted attack'. A 20-metre stretch of the High Street was cordoned off until around 2pm as a result.
Sheila Wade, who runs a hairdressers nearby, said: "The car pulled up directly outside, a black people carrier with no registration plates.
"Five quite heavily built men got out, dressed in black and wearing balaclavas.
"They had four baseball bats with red tape on and a machete. They meant business.
"I saw the lad come out of the shop and run. They chased after him.
"They were aggressive but if they wanted to do more damage they could have done."
Mr Taz's sister, who did not give her name, said: "He was sitting covered in blood.
"He said five of them came with a sword. He legged it into the Nisa shop.
"He is ok, they have taken him to hospital."
West Midlands Police spokesman Brigg Ford said: "Police were alerted at 9.30am to an incident at a shop in Lye High street during which a man was attacked with a machete.
"It's understood this was a targeted attack as the result of an on-going dispute and was not a random attack - there is not deemed to be any risk to the wider public.
"A 36-year-old man has been taken to hospital with serious head injuries but his condition is not believed to be life threatening. Inquiries are underway to trace the offenders."
