A British Pakistani teenager has died in a horrific knife attack outside a mosque on Friday evening.
The stabbing incident took place outside Oldbury Jamia Masjid in Smethwick, a town neighbouring Birmingham, while the worshippers were saying the Traweeh prayers inside the mosque.
The teenager has since been named as 18-year-old Zeeshan Afzal a resident of Smethwick. Two other youngsters, aged 19 and 22, are also being treated for knife wounds in a local hospital but their injuries are understood to be not life-threatening.
The local community is deeply saddened and shaken by the tragic incident, which occurred during the holy month of Ramadan.
Worshippers present at the mosque said they were shocked to see the heavy presence of police and paramedics when they came out after completing Taraweeh prayers.
Since the incident took place in the car park the whole area was cordoned off. The police instructed them to return inside and did not allow them to exit for approximately 40 minutes. When they were eventually allowed to leave, they were not permitted to remove their vehicles from the car park as it had become a crime scene.
According to West Midlands police, members of public alerted them of a disorder in the car park of Jamia Masjid Chashma-e-Rahmat situated on Oldbury Road.
Upon reaching there the sound 18 years old Zeeshan Azfal with stab wounds who soon after succumbed to the injuries despite efforts by paramedics.
Following the tragic incident the West Midlands Police launched a murder investigation and still working on to find the exact circumstances around the crime and the people involved.
A spokesman for the force said: “A murder investigation is underway after a teenager has tragically died after being stabbed in Smethwick”.
“Zeshan, from Smethwick, was sadly confirmed dead a short time later, and we’ll be doing everything we can to support his family at this terrible time”.
Although the motive behind the killing is yet to be established, the police have appealed to local residents or eyewitnesses to come forward with any information they may have.
Meanwhile, police have stated that they are not currently treating the incident as racially or religiously motivated, and investigations are still ongoing. The police have also assured the local community that to feel safe.
“The disorder happened outside a mosque, but at this stage there is nothing to suggest this was racially or religiously aggravated”.
“We fully understand the incident will have caused distress, and concern, within the community and we will continue to have a visible police presence in the area to provide reassurance”.
