Five arrests in armed police raid as man stabbed yards away from Smethwick murder scene
A man was attacked with a machete at a Black Country petrol station 100 yards away from where a man was murdered the day before.
Five people have now been arrested over the latest violent attack in Smethwick which saw armed police descend on the town on Monday evening.
The incident started at around 5.45pm when a 22-year-old man was attacked on the forecourt of the Texaco petrol station on Oldbury Road, around 100 yards away from where Karl Gallagher was stabbed to death on Sunday.
Timeline of knife attacks
Sunday, 2.40pm: Two teenagers injured in Solihull stabbing. One, a 16-year-old boy, is left critical after being knifed in the back. A 19-year-old man is also taken to hospital.
Sunday, 4.40pm: Karl Gallagher murdered in Smethwick. Mr Gallagher, 31, is pronounced dead at West Cross Shopping Centre after being knifed in front of shoppers. Police and family members urge the public not to share shocking video footage of the attack which is posted online.
Monday, 6pm: Man knifed at Smethwick petrol station. A man is slashed in the arm on a petrol station forecourt 100 yards away from where Mr Gallagher was killed. Armed police surround and raid a house on nearby St Paul's Road.
Officers believe the victim, the fourth person to be stabbed in the West Midlands in the space of 30 hours, was attacked after an argument. He was taken to hospital with serious slash wounds but his injuries were said not to be life-threatening.
A BMW fled the scene of the petrol station stabbing and was tracked to St Paul's Road around 700 yards away.
Armed police were sent to St Paul's Road where they surrounded and then raided a house near Holly Lane. The road was closed and police vans remained at the scene on Tuesday morning. The BMW has been recovered as evidence.
Four men were arrested on suspicion of wounding and firearms offences and a 17-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of assault and criminal damage. They all remained in custody on Tuesday afternoon.
Interactive map of the area:
The incident is not thought to be related to Mr Gallagher's murder which happened on the car park of West Cross Shopping Centre just off Oldbury Road. Eight suspects have so far been arrested over Mr Gallagher's murder.
Two people were also stabbed in Solihull on Sunday and one of the victims, a 16-year-old boy, was left in a critical condition.
Meanwhile armed police were also busy in West Bromwich on Monday where they were involved in a 16-hour stand-off with a man who barricaded himself in a flat on Birmingham Road.
Supt Martin Hurcomb, from the Sandwell local policing unit, said: “This is the second serious incident in Smethwick in a matter of days, and we want to reassure the public we take crimes of this nature very seriously.
“We quickly arrested five people in relation to this stabbing and detectives are reviewing CCTV to establish exactly what happened.
“Overnight a number of men were arrested in relation to the murder on Karl Gallagher, who was fatally stabbed at West Cross Shopping Centre on Sunday.
“These incidents are not linked, but we want to reassure the community we have increased our police presence in the area today and we are doing all we can to protect the public and investigate these crimes.”
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman added : “We were called at 5.49pm to reports of a medical emergency on Oldbury Road.
"One ambulance and the Midlands Air Ambulance Critical Care Car attended the scene.
"On arrival we discovered one patient, a man, with a serious injury. Following treatment at the scene, he was transported to hospital for further assessment.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police via the force website, by calling 101 or by contacting Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
