He was the light of our life, say family of Birmingham knife victim
THE family of a man murdered in a knife attack rampage in Birmingham at the weekend have paid tribute to “the light of their life” and have said he was loved by everyone he met.
Jacob Billington, 23, was with a group of school friends from Liverpool enjoying a reunion when he was stabbed in a random attack, which left seven other people injured.
Mr Billington’s friend, Michael Callaghan,
also 23, has been named as one of the victims. He is critically ill in hospital after suffering a neck wound in the early hours of Sunday.
The group were walking along Irving Street when they were attacked just yards from the hotel that they were staying in.
Mr Callaghan is understood to be in intensive care at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, and is with his girlfriend and family members.
The two friends were at primary school and college together in Crosby, Merseyside, before attending Sheffield
University. They were part of a band and had performed as recently as the previous weekend.
Mr Billington had been working at Sheffield Hallam University while Mr Callaghan had just started work with the NHS in Merseyside after graduating with an engineering degree, The Telegraph understands.
In a statement, Mr Billington’s devastated family said he was a wonderful person who lit up every room with his humour and personality.
They said: “Jacob was the light of our life and we have been devastated by his loss. He was a funny, caring and wonderful person who was loved by every single person he met.”
Mr Callaghan’s uncle, Peter Harvey, said the attack is “every family’s worst nightmare”. He continued: “In Michael’s
case his friends swiftly stemmed the blood loss from a neck wound, before the arrival of emergency services.
“Friends showed admirable bravery by trying to resuscitate Jacob, sadly without success. Jacob was popular, funny and caring – a young man with a strong sense of kindness, decency and social justice.”
During a two-hour rampage, the attacker also left a 30-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman in a critical condition, and injured four others.
A huge manhunt was launched with West Midlands Police issuing a description and CCTV footage of the suspect on Sunday evening. A 27-year-old man was eventually arrested at 4am yesterday when armed police raided a house in the Selly Oak area of Birmingham.
He remained in custody last night where he was being questioned on suspicion of murder and seven counts of attempted murder. Three other people, two men and a woman, were arrested from the same address on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Chief Supt Steve Graham said: “Our thoughts and sympathies are with Jacob’s family and friends.”