Teen arrested after boy, 12, dies in stabbing
· BBC NewsChloe Hughes
BBC News, West Midlands
Shyamantha Asokan
BBC News, West Midlands
A 14-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 12-year-old boy was stabbed to death in Birmingham.
West Midlands Police said the victim was stabbed in the stomach and found near Scribers Lane in Hall Green at about 15:40 GMT on Tuesday and died in hospital at 19:30.
A member of his family described him as "the most beautiful, kind child" and "the nicest kid you would meet".
At a press conference earlier, police said the teenager had also been arrested in connection with an unrelated assault on a woman in her 80s on 19 January.
The boy's family said he had been walking a 10-minute route home when the attack happened and described him as "funny, sweet and had not one aggressive bone in his body".
Christ Church Secondary Academy posted a statement on its website expressing "condolences and deepest sympathies" for the friends and family of one of its students.
"This is a very sad time for our school community and we are focusing on supporting our students, staff and families," it added.
Scribers Lane is a long and busy road, surrounded by houses, shops and local schools, in the suburb of Hall Green.
The attack is believed to have taken place near the railway bridge, which is next to Trittiford Mill Park.
A woman, who did not want to be named, told the BBC the park was "plagued" with anti-social behaviour and she often saw groups of young people gathering there being "aggressive and threatening".
West Midlands Police has appealed for information, as well as photo and video evidence.
Det Insp Joe Davenport said: "If you were in the area at the time and saw what happened, or think you may have captured any part of what happened on dashcam or mobile phone, it's vital you get in touch."
Knife crime figures released in July showed the West Midlands Police area had the highest rate of offences in England and Wales.
Alison Cope, whose son Joshua Ribera was murdered in a knife attack in Birmingham in 2013, told the BBC young people were "scared" of living in the West Midlands.
"They see the headlines of some of the horrific cases that we've seen almost every week now."
Ms Cope, now a campaigner against youth violence, said the region's approach to tackling the problem was "not working" and it needed to be discussed in schools.
"Children are being killed on the streets of the West Midlands, that's not a successful outcome as far as I'm concerned.
"We have to make them understand, and the only way we're truly going to do that is through education."
'We are not complacent'
There have been several high-profile incidents involving teenagers in the last year.
In June, two 12-year-old boys were found guilty of murdering Shawn Seesahai with a machete in Wolverhampton.
In November, a 15-year-old boy was charged with murder after a 17-year-old boy was stabbed in Marston Green.
A 15-year-old boy was charged with attempted murder on 5 January, following the stabbing of a 14-year-old boy in Oldbury.
In October, the West Midlands' police and crime commissioner Simon Foster said a knife crime task force led by the home secretary would help to "keep our communities safe".
He added: "We are not complacent and never will be."
John Cotton, leader of Birmingham City Council, described Tuesday's stabbing as "shocking and senseless" and said knife crime was a national crisis.
He said the "council, police, schools, parents and communities" had to keep working together to "tackle this horror" and protect young people.
'Not easy to fix'
Sarah Coombes, Labour MP for West Bromwich, told the BBC police needed more money, knives needed to be taken off the streets, and there needed to be early intervention.
"Often 14 or 15 is too late, often we need to be doing it more like eight years old, nine years old and really make them understand the horrific impact that carrying a knife has."
Coombes added that a loss of police in the region, especially PCSOs, had had an impact, as well as a loss of youth services.
"It's not easy to fix this problem, there are no quick fixes, but we have to be relentlessly focused on it."
According to the Office for National Statistics, in the year ending March 2023, 82% of teenage homicide victims were killed by a knife or sharp instrument compared to 41% of all homicide victims.
In September, the prime minister pledged to "double down" on knife crime at a summit at Downing Street aimed at halving it over the next decade.
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