Passer-by rushes to stop bleeding as axe attack leaves boy critical
A good Samaritan has described the moment he rushed to try and stop blood pouring from a teenager after he was attacked with an axe and a knife.
The 16-year-old boy is now fighting for his life in hospital after being targeted in what detectives are treating as an attempted murder in Walsall.
He was stabbed in the abdomen and suffered a head injury in the attack which happened at an industrial estate off Stafford Street at around 6pm on Tuesday.
A nearby resident who was walking past at the time alerted the emergency services after seeing the attack unfold at Phoenix Business Park.
The man, who spoke to the Express & Star but asked not to be named, explained how he ran over to help the teenage victim as he saw the two men responsible run away from the scene.
He said: "I tried to help stop the bleeding and called for the police and ambulance, who I think took their time as I had to ring them twice to get them down here.
"We probably waited about 10 to 15 minutes for them to come, with me sitting next to him and comforting him as we waited for them."
The man, who works near the business park, said he had never seen anything like the attack happen in that area.
He said: "It's usually a very quiet area around here, with people just coming in to work at the garage and the furniture shop, and I think it might be the first time that's happened around here.
"I wasn't able to go into work today as I'm still very shaken about what happened because you hear about this happening, but you never expect to see happen in front of your own eyes.
"The way it's happened is really shocking and makes you feel unsafe as you just want to work and get on with your life, but dangerous things like this happen."
The area around the garage where the attack happened remained closed on Wednesday, with police tape and officers still at the scene.
Nobody has been arrested over the incident, with police attempting to identify the two men responsible. One of the men is believed to be white, the other black, with both around 6ft tall. One is thought to have fled the scene on a bicycle.
They are believed to have been looking for the victim before the attack happened.
Israr Hussain, who manages the neighbouring Karimia Institute, said he had never seen anything like the attack happen at the business park previously.
He said: "You occasionally hear youths in the area and the occasional little fight or squabble, but I've never seen anything as serious as a knife crime around here before.
"I'm hopeful that it's an isolated incident, possibly a personal issue between the people involved, but it's a bit frightening for it to have happened at all.
"I hope it doesn't have a detrimental effect on the area as this is normally very quiet, so people shouldn't be scared off from coming around here."
West Midlands Police has asked for anyone who was in the area at the time and saw what happened, or the attackers making off, to get in touch with West Midlands Police quoting crime reference 20/1851489/21.
