Words & pics by Liam Smith
Police were called to Paget Road, Pype Hayes, last night after a man in his 20s was stabbed not far from an entrance to Paget Primary school.
The attack took place by the entrance to the school car park near the corner of Westmead Cresent, but the attack was reportedly an “isolated incident” unrelated to the school.
The call was made roughly at 9:30pm on Sunday, 26 March, with emergency services responding quickly and placing a cordon on the small dead end area outside the school car park gates.
A spokesperson for West Midlands ambulance service confirmed: “We were called to reports of a stabbing on Paget Road at 9:31pm, one ambulance, two paramedic officers and a trauma doctor attended the scene.
“We discovered one male patient who was treated for serious injuries before being taken to hospital for further assessment.”
Attending the scene late last night, Erdington Local arrived to see a single police van and two officers, with the scene under control and no visible threat to public safety.
Officers quickly assured the stabbing was not believed to be life threatening, despite the serious injuries sustained, explaining the “victim is in hospital now” and believed to be making “a good recovery”.
Forensics had been called to visit the crime scene.
Access to the rest of Paget Road was only possible via Westmead Crescent until the scene cleared, with officers protecting a police crime scene tent as their investigation continued.
This morning officers were again patrolling streets near the scene, assuring local residents the attack last night was “an isolated incident” and there was no danger to local residents or Paget Primary School, which neighbours the area where the attack to place.
Police were able to tell they believed the attack was carried out by people not local to Pype Hayes and again confirmed there is no threat to those in the local area.
A statement from West Midlands Police, issued today, stated: “We’re investigating after a man was found with stab wounds in Paget Road, Erdington, at just after 9:35pm yesterday (26 March).
“The man, aged in his 20s, has been taken to hospital with injures which are not believed to be life threatening.”
“It’s understood his car was taken after he was attacked and enquiries into who was involved are ongoing.”
Reports of knife crime, especially amongst young people, has been on the rise across the UK in recent years, with the cyclical nature of threat and violence seeing stabbings become more and more common place.
According to the Office for National Statistics “Knife-enabled crime recorded by the police saw a 10% increase to 49,027 offences in the year ending March 2022, from 44,642 in the year ending March 2021.”
According to www.ukcrimestats.com, the Erdington Constituency has the highest suburban crime rate across Birmingham – second only to Ladywood, which encapsulates parts of the City Centre.
From Nov ’21 to Nov ’23, there were nearly 100 more crimes in Erdington involving weapons than the next highest West Midlands constituency in Wolverhampton Soth West.
West Midlands Police are yet to confirm any arrests for the attack on Paget Road on the evening of 26 March but the investigation remains ongoing.