Police hunt for Lozells knife attacker [with map and video]
A MAJOR stop-and-search operation was underway today in an inner-city Birmingham suburb at the mercy of a knife-wielding maniac behind a string of attacks.
West Midlands detectives have linked at least seven random knife attacks on innocent members of the public in the Lozells area over the last six months.
So far, the victims have suffered minor wounds but detectives fear that it could be just a matter of time before someone suffers life-threatening injuries.
Now police have been granted extra powers to stop and search people on the streets of Lozells for weapons and evidence as the hunt for the knifeman was stepped up.
In each of the attacks, all in a small area of Lozells, the offender has walked up to his victims, all lone men aged between 19 and 56, stabbed them in the back or threatened them with a knife before escaping without saying a word.
View Lozells knife attacks Map in a larger map |
Four of the attacks have happened on a Tuesday. But police have been baffled by the spate and have so far not been able to determine any motive.
Officers on the Major Investigation Unit have consulted national experts in the behavioural and geographical profiling of offenders but research has found no other examples of similar crimes in the West Midlands before. Det Insp Wayne Jones, who is leading the hunt, said: “We are trying to figure out why on earth he is doing this – he is obviously not getting anything from it.”
A team of more than 20 detectives has been working on the investigation, codenamed Greenpathway.
The first attack took place on June 9 followed by a second offence on July 7. After a 14-week break, the attacker struck again on October 13.
Then on November 16, a shopkeeper was attacked as he opened up his store in Lozells Road. It was only while serving customers that he discovered a small knife wound in his back.
The frequency of the attacks has increased in recent weeks with three in December, first on December 1, then on December 6. In the most recent incident, a 40-year-old man was attacked as he walked along Leonard Road at 7.15pm on December 23. He thought he had been hit by a snowball but later found two stab small wounds in his back.
The offender is described as a black man, aged between 18 and 30, of slim build and between 5ft 8in and 6ft tall. The man has had his face covered for each assault, most recently with a blue bandana with white blotches.
* Contact police on 0121 626 8525, Thornhill Road CID on 0845 113 5000 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
