Bloody week in the Black Country as knife crime seems to spiral out of control

You might say it began with the tragic death of 15-year-old Isaac Brown in West Bromwich a week ago today.

Two teenagers, from Smethwick, have appeared in court charged with his murder. One of the accused is just 13-years-old.

Isaac's death highlights a concerning trend that demands urgent attention - young people are dying with horrific regularity.

We have also seen two 12-year-olds appear before a judge accused of killing 19-year-old Shawn Seesahai in Wolverhampton. They pleaded not guilty to the killing.

Last week, two men were jailed for life for the murder of Cody Fisher in Birmingham. He had bumped into one of the killers, Remy Gordon, in a Solihull nightclub on Christmas Eve. Gordon couldn't let it go and spent Christmas Day using social media to find out who Cody was and where he was going to be. Cody was tracked to a Digbeth nightclub on Boxing Day 2022, and stabbed to death.

It seems such a trivial motive for murder, but Cody Fisher's awful killing really epitomises the chilling reality of premeditated violence that plagues our communities.

This week, we've also seen four Black Country men jailed for a total of more than 100 years for the horrific murder of a DPD driver in Shropshire, and three men locked up for a triple stabbing in a Walsall park.

Those incidents happened in the past, but the violence is current, and as we headed into this weekend, it seemed to grow more widespread.

We've seen a video of a man lying in the middle of a road in Dudley with a knife hanging out of his leg. We reported the incident last week but the video, which we haven't published, shows the grisly, painful reality of the injuries people suffer when knives are involved.

There was a machete attack by a gang in Bloxwich on Thursday night; teenagers were arrested over another alleged machete incident in Walsall town centre on Friday afternoon and yet another stabbing in Bloxwich on Friday night. A teenager has been arrested in connection with the latter.

All these brutal incidents and the fact youngsters seem to always find themselves involved - often as victims - serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerability of our youth to the lure of violence.

It doesn't seem to matter how hard the police work to bring people to justice - and it has to be said they always catch and convict when it comes to murder cases - knife crime just seems to keep getting worse.

As a society, we cannot afford to remain passive in the face of such senseless tragedies.

It is incumbent upon all stakeholders – from policy makers to parents to members of the public and local newspapers – to come together and take decisive action to stem the tide of knife crime before more lives are needlessly lost.

Only through collective effort, personal responsibility and unwavering determination can we hope to create safer streets for our communities.

Watch and share our documentary

The Express & Star produced a heart-wrenching documentary on knife crime in the region this year. Grief tells the stories of two grieving parents, a mother and a father, who bravely share what it's really like to lose their sons.

You can watch the documentary for free here: https://www.shotstv.com/watch/vod/52297933/grief-the-agony-of-knife-crime-in-the-black-country