Teenager charged with attempted murder

We’ve charged a teenager with attempted murder and arrested a second boy, following an attack on a man in Smethwick.

The 17-year-old appeared before magistrates in Birmingham today, following the attack on a man in his 50s on St Pauls Road at around 8.30pm on Sunday (14 June).

He was remanded into youth detention and will next appear before Birmingham Crown Court on 17 July.

Meanwhile, a second 17-year-old boy was arrested just before 4am today in the Dudley area.

He remains in custody on suspicion of attempted murder and will be questioned in due course.

In light of new information received, this is now being treated as a hate crime due to a homophobic comment made during the attack.

There is no evidence that the attack was motivated by race or religion.

The victim, in his 50s, remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition.

We have also set up a dedicated web page where you can send any relevant photos, videos or other information directly to our officers 👉 https://mipp.police.uk/operation/20HQ23M10-PO1

Ch Supt Kim Madill, of Sandwell Police, said: “I know the real concern and anger that this attack has caused in the area, and I’ve been in touch with representatives from the community throughout the week to reassure them that we are doing everything we can to establish what happened and who was responsible.”

Officers from our Major Crime Unit continue to investigate and are urging anyone who may have been in the Tollhouse Way or St Pauls area at the time or has any information to get in touch with us by calling 101 quoting incident number 3929 of 14 June.

You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.