West Midlands Police have arrested two teenage boys in connection with a brutal attack on a 73 year old Muslim man as he walked home from a mosque in Kings Heath, Birmingham.
The pair, both aged 16, were detained from separate addresses in Birmingham overnight. They have been detained on suspicion of assault and taken into custody.
A video showed the 73-year-old walking along York Road when he was attacked at around 11pm on Wednesday.
He suffered a broken hand and cuts to his face, and has been discharged from hospital to continue his recovery.
A statement from the family said: “We would ask for the public to be calm and that they help the police with their investigation. We would also ask that people have respect for our privacy whilst we help our father to recover.”
Inspector Neil Kirkpatrick, of Moseley and Kings Heath police, said: “We’ve all been appalled by this attack and we’ve had teams working around the clock to identify suspects.
“We’ve made two arrests and this remains a very active investigation. We understand the concern this has caused within the community, especially those observing the holy month of Ramadan.
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“We’re grateful for the support we’ve received, and we’re linking in with faith leaders and working with street stewards from local mosques to reassure the community. We’ll continue to have increased patrols and a visible presence to provide reassurance.”
Police say there is nothing to suggest any connection at all to the recent attack on a man who was walking home from a mosque in Edgbaston last week.
They added: “We’re aware that distressing videos of the incident being shared on social media. We ask you to please not share this content. This could not only affect the victim and his family but it could also damage the investigation and we need to make sure that we secure justice for the victim, who we continue to support.”
Anyone with information has been asked to get in touch via Live Chat at west-midlands.police.uk, quoting log 5182 of 29 March.
