BIRMINGHAM BLOODBATH
Captured on CCTV, the smirking suspect who vanished after attack left 1 dead and 7 injured
A knife maniac who killed one man and injured seven others in a 90-minute rampage was being hunted last night.
Police issued a CCTV image of the suspect, who vanished at the end of the horrifying bloodbath.
He attacked his first victim on the north side of Birmingham city centre at around 12.30am yesterday before heading south into the gay quarter. The last stabbing was just after 2am.
Savvas Sfrantzis, 64, who owns a bar called Mykonos, said he saw the killer stab one young woman as many as seven times. ‘He put the knife in her neck and walked off – she was only young, maybe in her twenties,’ he added.
‘He didn’t panic, he didn’t look like he was worried. He looked relaxed about what he had done. i was surprised because i thought he would run away but he just walked.’
Mr Sfrantzis said a bar manager told the killer he recognised his face but he replied with a smirk: ‘Whatever.’ The businessman added: ‘The guy walks down the road, smirking and just walking, slow.’
The manager of the nearby Sidewalk bar gave chase with another man but the attacker was able to slip away.
‘He started walking faster, they kept their distance because he had a knife,’ said Mr Sfrantzis. Police did not release CCTV until more than 18 hours after the first victim was attacked. Wearing dark trousers and a dark hooded top with a black cap, the suspect is seen loitering as members of the public walk by.
A 23-year-old man was stabbed to death and a man and a woman, aged 19 and 32, were critically wounded. five others, aged between 23 and 33 were injured. Two have left hospital so far.
Chief Superintendent Steve Graham, of West Midlands
Police, said: ‘We do not underestimate the impact that these incidents have had on the city.
‘We declared this a major incident at the earliest opportunity and we have drafted in scores of officers to help with the investigation and patrol the city to reassure residents and visitors that we are doing all we can to apprehend the person responsible.
‘We have worked throughout the day to trawl CCTV footage and speak to witnesses to ensure we release the best possible video and image of the man we want to speak to.
‘We believe that the attacks were random and we have no indication of a motive.’
Mr Graham said there was nothing suggesting it was a hate crime or gang-related.
Gary Prentis, co-owner of LGBT bar eden said: ‘The suspect strolled past and tried to get into a taxi.
‘The taxi driver must have turned him away because he kept walking.
‘He seemed relaxed, not running – just strolling.
‘We didn’t know who he was or what he had done. But people came running over from the bars on Hurst Street telling us he had stabbed people. By that point he had walked away and disappeared.’
A knife was found in a drain in the city centre but police said it was too early to link the weapon with the attacks.
The victims with the worst wounds were taken to the major trauma centre at the Queen elizabeth Hospital.
There continued to be a heavy police presence in the city centre yesterday.
Gerry Campbell, a former Scotland Yard detective, criticised West Midlands Police for delaying the release of the information. He tweeted: ‘The Birmingham multiple stabbing has been running for almost ten hours now without an informed update.’
Mason Johnson, 25, from Birmingham, said he was frightened by the knifeman still being at large. ‘People are terrified. There’s a killer on the loose. i’m a young man and i’m scared,’ he said.
‘There’s a killer on the loose’