Boy, 17, suffers facial injuries in alleged hammer attack at Dudley's Merry Hill Shopping Centre
A teenager suffered facial injuries in a hammer attack that left shoppers at the Merry Hill Shopping Centre in shock.
West Midlands Police said the 17-year-old boy was seen being chased by another boy at the popular Brierley Hill shopping centre at around 1pm on Saturday.
The victim walked into the centre's Eat Central with facial injuries and was assisted by staff.
A 16-year-old boy was arrested for allegedly carrying two knives and is assisting police with their enquiries.
The injured teenager was taken to hospital for treatment to his injuries and is now recovering at home. There were no other reported injuries.
Shoppers took to social media to talk of their shock, saying they saw a boy hit another boy with a hammer in the attack.
One shopper, who wished to remain anonymous, said she was eating lunch with her family in Eat Central when she heard shouting.
Bleeding
She said: "I saw two teenagers running when one boy struck the other boy with a hammer over the head.
"The one boy ran off, after a couple of minutes the other boy ran back who was bleeding from the face to have another go at him but a man intervened. The security then came.
"A lot of people were shaken up and children were really upset."
A spokesman for the Merry Hill Shopping Centre said: “West Midlands Police were called to an incident in Eat Central on 12 May just after 1pm.
"Our security staff responded immediately.
"The safety and security of everyone in our centre is of course our absolute priority and we are sorry for any distress that this may have caused.
"Incidents of this nature are rare and isolated, and we'd like to reassure our customers that we have well-rehearsed and flexible plans in place to deal with a range of incidents.
"Our team of highly trained security staff responded quickly to contain the incident. We are working closely with the police to support their investigation."
A West Midlands Police spokesman said: "A 17-year-old boy was injured in an assault with a hammer at Merry Hill Shopping Centre on Saturday.
"The teenager was seen being chased by another boy at around 1pm. He subsequently walked into the food hall with facial injuries and was assisted by staff.
"He was taken to hospital for treatment to his injuries and was later discharged to recover at home.
"A 16-year-old boy has been arrested for carrying two knives and is now assisting police with their enquiries."
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call West Midlands Police on 101, quoting incident reference number 1108 of May 12.
Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org
