Smethwick stabbing: Teen charged with murder as tributes paid to 'ambitious' young victim
Tributes have been paid to an "ambitious" teenager stabbed to death in the Black Country as an 18-year-old man was charged with his murder.
Derlarno Samuels, 17, died after being stabbed in Smethwick on Saturday.
He was named as the victim by West Midlands Police on Monday as detectives charged Cam-Ron Dunn, 18, with his murder.
Derlarno is understood to have been chased into a shop in Waterloo Road where he was stabbed at around 4pm.
A few minutes later he was found with stab wounds in a Ford Focus that crashed in Heath Street, around a mile away from the Nowa Polka shop where he is believed to have been knifed.
Derlarno was taken to hospital and pronounced dead around an hour later.
A post mortem has given the cause of death as a stab wound, West Midlands Police said.
Derlarno’s family have now paid tribute to the teenager, describing him as "ambitious, inquisitive and full of life".
"He was a generous young man who is much loved and missed by his family and friends," they added.
Dunn, from Smethwick, was arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning and charged with murder on Monday.
He was kept in custody to appear at Birmingham Magistrates Court on Tuesday as detectives continued to appeal for witnesses.
Detective Inspector Hannah Whitehouse said: “Our thoughts remain with Derlarno’s family who are being supported by our specially trained officers at this tragic time.
"We are still working to establish the full circumstances and we would ask anyone with information about what happened get in contact, in particular anyone who witnessed any disorder around the Waterloo Road/Cape Hill/Windmill Lane junction between 3pm and 4.30pm.’’
The area around the Eastern European shop in Waterloo Road was cordoned off on Sunday as police officers examined the area, while floral tributes were left next to the cordon.
Anyone with information is asked to message police on the live chat via the force website or call 101, quoting the crime reference number 20/549867/21.
