Viewers of Good Morning Britain were met with sombre news as Charlotte Hawkins reported on a tragic incident during Wednesday’s programme. The ITV audience learned that a 14-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Jonathan Swain, reporting live from Birmingham, provided further details about the devastating incident which led to the death of a 12-year-old boy.
Describing the situation, he remarked: “Well, Charlotte, this is awful news, isn’t it? For people to wake up to yet another young life tragically lost because of knife crime.”
The broadcast journalist highlighted that the attack occurred in broad daylight, just as schoolchildren were heading home on Tuesday afternoon, shortly after 3:00pm. He said: “You can see the police are still on the scene here this morning.
“The police tape, the police officer, and the police van. It happened just under that bridge over there. But, this did happen in a residential area, just take a look, families in this street here would’ve been well aware of what was going on.”
The ITV star went on to mention that emergency services, including an air ambulance, responded swiftly to the scene on Tuesday afternoon, reports the Manchester Evening News.
He concluded: “The boy who was attacked sadly suffered serious injuries, and he died as a result of those, despite all the emergency services’ best efforts. The police, this morning, told us that now a 14-year-old, a 14-year-old boy, has been arrested on suspicion of murder.”
Jonathan has announced that police are urging the public to come forward with any observations or recordings they may have, including mobile phone, dashcam or doorbell footage from the area.
Returning to Charlotte in the studio, Jonathan said: “Charlotte, yet again, here we are, we have yet another investigation. Another crime scene and tragically another young life lost.”
Reacting to the news, Charlotte remarked: “It’s sad, isn’t it?” The news bulletin quickly prompted reactions from viewers, many of whom shared their sympathies for the family affected by the tragedy.
One viewer described the news as “Heartbreaking.” Meanwhile, another commented: “Heartbreaking, what a scary world we live in. Thoughts with the family.”
West Midlands Police issued a statement confirming: “A boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder following a fatal stabbing in Birmingham.”
“The boy, 14, was arrested after a 12-year-old boy was found with serious injuries near Scribers Lane, Hall Green shortly after 3pm today (21 January). The 12-year-old was taken to hospital, but sadly died as a result of his injuries.”
“His family have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers. We are continuing to appeal for any information which could help in our investigation.”
“We have set up our Major Incident Public Portal (MIPP) where members of the public can submit photos or video evidence. Visit WMP Intranet – Home (mipp.police.uk) to access the MIPP or use the QR code below. Anyone with any other information can call 101 or use Live Chat quoting log 3324 of 21 January.”
Good Morning Britain is available to watch on ITV from 6am.