Police Arrest One Over Brutal Birmingham Gay Village Attack

Police have arrested a man suspected of a violent homophobic attack in the gay village in Birmingham last week. The police are looking for two other men who have been accused of being involved in the attack.

The 31-year old man, believed to be Mosin Mahmood, allegedly abused and attacked two gay men, Rob and Patrick, outside Missing Bar in Bromsgrove Street in the city’s Gay village on August 15. Homophobic slurs were hurled at the pair, who were then assaulted with bottles.

“We’ve had a good response to our appeal and I’m grateful for people sharing it far and wide. This was a brutal attack and we need to find the people responsible,” Sgt Marc Petford said on Sunday.

#UPDATE | We’ve arrested a man wanted over a bottle attack on two men in Birmingham’s Gay Village.

A 31-year-old handed himself in following our appeal. Arrested on suspicion of wounding.

We’re still searching for Sohail Khan (24) & Ishaaq Ayaz (21).https://t.co/A7bcez113F

— Birmingham Police (@BrumPolice) August 22, 2021

“We’ve arrested a man wanted over a violent attack on two men in Birmingham’s Gay Village – and are continuing our efforts to find two more suspects,” said West Midlands Police in a statement.

“A 31-year-old man handed himself in to one of our police stations yesterday after we issued an appeal for information on the whereabouts of three men. He’s been arrested on suspicion of wounding and remains in custody.”

While the 31-year old man is in custody for the attack, detectives are seeking to speak to two other men, Sohail Khan, 24, and Ishaaq Ayaz, 21- about the attack. Both these men are from Birmingham. The police said they would “encourage the other two to follow suit and also come and speak to us.”

Shocking Attack

The married couple, in their thirties, told the BBC that they had decided to go dancing after attending a friend’s housewarming party. Their evening’s frivolities were cut short by this traumatic incident. While Patrick was knocked unconscious, Rob suffered several deep cuts by the men. Both of them were admitted to the hospital for treatment.

“Its just shocking that this would happen in 2021 in the UK. Especially in the Gay Village- that should be a safe area to be who you want and not have to tolerate people yelling homophobic remarks at you,” said Rob to BBC.

“It was a nice night out and there had been guys sitting in front of the bar in an SUV. We tried to be nice to them. I said: ‘Is it your birthday?’ or something, and they started yelling at us and calling us homophobic names.”

Patrick’s phone was snatched by one of the men when he tried to film the abuse. One of their female friends suffered a foot injury in an attempt to retrieve his phone.

“The offenders grabbed one of their mobile phones and then attacked them with bottles, knocking one unconscious and leaving the other with nasty cuts,” the police said.

If you feel distressed reading the story, you can reach out to support services.

For 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14

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