Man dies after frenzied stabbing on board bus
A man has died after being repeatedly stabbed in a frenzied knife attack in front of stunned bus passengers.
Murder detectives have launched a manhunt for the male attacker after the victim was knifed “several times” in the stomach and back on the top deck of a Birmingham bus on Monday night.
The victim and the suspected attacker were sat alongside each other, on opposite sides of the aisle, when an altercation broke out leading to an exchange of blows.
Police tape
Detective Superintendent Tom Chisholm, of West Midlands Police, said the attacker had only boarded the bus minutes earlier in Rookery Road, Handsworth, before the row broke out.
It does not appear the pair knew each other, he added.
Both men had boarded the 11A late night bus separately, with the attacker getting on as it travelled along Rookery Road.
Within five minutes, the attack had happened, leaving the victim fatally injured.
Mr Chisholm said: “There didn’t appear to be much of a build-up to this incident.
“It very quickly became physical and clearly the one male has over-powered the other one and there’s a number of blows been exchanged.
“They were facing each other,” he added.
The detective said: “It would appear he was stabbed in the abdomen and back area, several times, but it’s really too early to speculate on where those blows landed and the amount of times, at this stage.”
The suspect then fled the scene at Rookery Road’s junction with Oxhill Road, in the direction of the busy nearby Soho Road, just moments before the alarm was raised at about 10.43pm.
Another passenger up on the top deck then alerted the bus driver, who immediately stopped and dialled 999.
However, medics were unable to save the man, who died at the scene.
The weapon thought to have been used in the attack – a folding pocket knife – has not yet been recovered, although forensic searches of the scene and surrounding area are continuing.
The attack played out in front of other passengers on the top deck, four of whom immediately got off the bus.
Police are now appealing for those people to come forward, suggesting they may not have realised the seriousness of what had unfolded.
Meanwhile, police are closely studying the bus’s on-board CCTV footage to try and piece together exactly what happened and identify all those involved.
The suspect is described as black male, thought to be about 5ft 9-10in tall and was wearing a dark padded jacket.
He also had a dark baseball cap, a “non-descript” duffel bag and some “bin-type earphones”.
At one stage, the suspect’s cap was knocked off revealing a short dreads-style haircut, with a centre parting.
The family of the victim, a black male believed to be in his 30s, have been informed, and a post-mortem examination is expected to take place later.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the police on 101.
