Teenage boy fighting for life after being stabbed several times outside Birmingham mosque

A teenage boy has been left with life-threatening injuries after being stabbed outside a mosque in Birmingham. It is believed the 14-year-old was outside the mosque in Herbert Road, Small Heath just after 1am on 30 September when he was attacked.

The boy was stabbed several times and was taken to hospital by paramedics where he remains in a critical condition.

The teen was attending a special youth event as a part of a festival hosted by the mosque at the time of the attack.

West Midlands Police said they are not treating the stabbing as terrorist related and are investigating whether it was racially motivated.

A cordon is in place whilst specialist teams are carrying out numerous lines of enquiry including forensic investigations.

Detective Inspector Jim Colclough from the complex crime investigation team at Bournville Lane police station said: "Knife crime is priority for us and an investigation is underway to identify those responsible.

"This is a tragic event which has left a young boy is in hospital fighting for his life so I'd urge anyone who was in the vicinity, saw what happened, or has any other information which may help our investigation to contact me or my team on 101 or to call Crimestoppers as soon as possible."

Update: A 29-year-old man has since been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

Detective Inspector Jim Colclough from the complex crime investigation team at Bournville Lane police station said: "Our investigation is progressing quickly but it is still in the early stages.

"We do not believe it to be terror-related. The motivation for the attack is not yet known, we are keeping an open mind as to whether it could be racially or religiously motivated.

"We are working closely with local communities and have increased our local police presence in the area to provide reassurance and be on hand to answer any questions or concerns that people may have.

Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111. Please quote West Midlands Police log 182 of 30/09/17.