Birmingham mosque stabbing: Man arrested as boy, 15, fights for life
A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a 15-year-old boy was stabbed several times outside a mosque in Birmingham on Saturday.
The boy is fighting for his life after he was attacked outside the Idaara Maarif-e-Islam mosque, in Herbert Road, Small Heath, at just after 1am.
Witnesses told how a man stabbed the schoolboy in the face and neck as his brother screamed for help.
The youngster, who had only celebrated his 15th birthday on Friday, sustained several stab wounds and was taken to hospital by paramedics, where his condition is described as critical.
A 29-year-old man has was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and is currently in custody. The schoolboy remains in critical condition at Birmingham's Children's Hospital.
A cordon was put in place as specialist teams carried out forensic investigations.
The younster's family said today they believes it was was a targeted attack.
The schoolboy was picking up his brother from the mosque, where a lecture for 200 children was taking place, as part of a ten-day festival to mark the Mourning of Muharram.
Detective Inspector 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.
“We are working closely with local communities and have increased our local police presence in the area to provide reassurance and be on hand to answer any questions or concerns that people may have.
“It is tragic event which has left a young boy in hospital fighting for his life. 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."
Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org quoting West Midlands Police log 182 of 30/09/17.
