Woman Knifed in Birmingham City Bus Stop Assault Dies
A woman who was stabbed in the neck during a random assault near a bus shelter in Birmingham has died, police have confirmed.
The deceased woman, aged 34 years, was targeted in Smallbrook Queensway, just outside Bullring shopping complex, shortly before 21:00 GMT Friday evening, according to police statements.
Djeison Rafael, twenty-one, appeared before Birmingham Magistrates Court on Monday, charged over the attack.
Originally charged of attempted murder but following the woman's death charges were upgraded to murder.
Police Response
Authorities stated officers would be in the downtown area on Monday to offer reassurance, while detectives assisted the woman's family.
Detectives are appealing any eyewitnesses who may have seen the accused, identified as British citizen of Black ethnicity, and is believed to have been wearing grey athletic wear, dark headwear, trainers and rucksack.
Incident Location
The knife attack occurred near the Bullring shopping centre, across from primary access point to Birmingham New Street station.
Law enforcement confirmed they were treating it as "unprovoked attack" with investigators stating they were working to understand the motive behind.
Eyewitness Reports
An area worker, employed in the vicinity, described the emergency response after completing her work period around 10 PM Friday night.
She described the scene as extremely disorderly, and said some of her colleagues heard loud disturbances around 9 PM.
"A lot of co-workers use transit services, ride the tramline... our security is compromised fundamentally, in the downtown area."
Another individual, 25, resident of Stoke, said he came the city quite frequently visiting his partner resident there, expressing concern about what had happened.
"It makes me worried about my partner," he stated.
"She doesn't drive and works at all of the big music venues... and to think something completely unprovoked occurred, understandably, it's horrible."
