Youth, 17, who was knifed in savage attack by FIFTEEN men speaks out from his hospital bed to recall how his ‘whole body was freezing’ and he felt his life slipping away after he was stabbed in the back
- Teenager, who has not been named, was attacked in Birmingham’s city centre
- Balaclava-clag gang approached before hitting him and plunging a knife into him
- He recalled he felt like he was ‘freezing’ and was ‘just shaking’ after attack
A 17-year-old boy who survived having a knife plunged into his back has revealed how it left his ‘whole body freezing’ and him feeling as though his life was slipping away.
The teenager, who has not been named, said from his hospital bed that his whole body kept shaking as he waited for emergency services.
He was approached by a balaclava-clad 15-member gang as he walked through Birmingham city centre at 7pm on Monday. They hit him over the head with what he believes was a bottle in a sock, punched him and stabbed him.
West Midlands police have appealed for information. No arrests have been made.
The teenager, who has not been named, said the attack in Birmingham city centre left him with ‘blood dripping on the floor’. Doctors have said he was lucky to survive
He said the gang hit him over the head with what he believes was a glass bottle in a sock, punched him and stabbed him
The 17-year-old victim, recalling the attack, said he could ‘just feel punches coming into my face’. ‘Then loads of punches coming at me. There was about 15, all of them punching and kicking me.’
‘It felt like something had gone inside me but I didn’t know I’d got stabbed so I ran inside Bullring. I heard them say: “We don’t want to see you in town again” and they ran towards the markets.
‘When I stopped running, I felt pain in my back and I just saw blood dripping on the floor. I took off my coat and touched my back and felt blood. There was loads of blood, full of blood.’
He pleaded with stunned workers at the Bullring shopping centre to call for an ambulance as blood pooled beneath him.
‘I wouldn’t stop bleeding,’ he said. ‘My whole body was freezing, it was like somebody put me in a freezer. I was just shaking.’
‘There was one point where I feared for my life where I was closing my eyes and it felt like I was going, I’m legit going.’
The teenager has called for action to end knife crime. His injured arm is shown above
He had been heading home from applying for a course at University College Birmingham when he was attacked.
The teenager said he doesn’t know why he was targeted, but thought it may either be linked to his pouch or a dispute earlier that day.
‘It’s not always gang related,’ he said referring to knife crime. ‘I’m innocent. I was just going home and they tried robbing me and that’s it you get stabbed.’
‘The doctors told me I’m lucky I survived. Someone has to put an end to these stabbings.’
‘Now I just feel it’s going to keep playing back in my head every time I hear someone was stabbed. I’ll think, “I was in that situation”.’
West Midlands Police have said they are yet to make any arrests in relation to the attack
West Midlands Police has yet to make any arrests and has urged any witnesses or anyone with information to come foward.
A statement from West Midlands Police read: ‘We are investigating after a teenager was stabbed near the Bullring in Birmingham last night (9 March).
‘The 17-year-old boy was taken to hospital where he remains in a serious but stable condition.
‘We believe he was attacked by a group of men at around 7pm and that he went into the Bullring near Zara to seek help after.
‘We’re currently examining CCTV and speaking to potential witnesses as we need to identify this group.’
Anyone who has any information is urged to contact us via Live Chat on our website or by calling 101. Please quote log number 3133 of 9 March.