Eight men have been arrested following the murder of a man who was stabbed to death in Smethwick.
Two men aged 19, as well as a 21-year-old and a 20-year-old have been arrested on suspicion of murder, while three others aged , 20, 21 and 22, have been held on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Another man, aged 24, was held on suspicion of obstructing police.
Today the victim can be named as
Karl Gallagher, aged 31, of Smethwick, who leaves behind a daughter.
We were called to West Cross Shopping Centre at 4.40pm on Sunday (26 April), where Mr Gallagher suffered serious knife injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem was being held this morning.
His family said today: “Karl was a very dearly loved son, brother, nephew, cousin and partner. He was also a proud and loving father. His friends & family are devastated.”
Detectives are working tirelessly to piece together the moments leading up to the attack and to identify those responsible.
Officers raided six properties overnight, and continue to examine CCTV and mobile phone footage from the scene of the stabbing.
DCI Jim Munro, overseeing the investigation, said: “We’ve made significant progress over the past 24 hours and are building up a clearer picture of the events of Sunday afternoon.
“We’re very much aware that video showing the murder of Karl has been widely shared on Twitter.
“We have contacted them and have asked them to remove it, but to date we know that the footage remains visible.
“I’d urge people not to share the footage, and to report it to Twitter whenever they see copies of it.
“It’s very distressing for Karl’s family to know that his final moments have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times. It’s also important to remember that proceedings are now active, and that anyone who does share it is potentially committing a criminal offence.”