Shocking videos have captured a number of horror moments in Birmingham and Solihull over the last 12-months. Jaw-dropping footage showed a car flipping into the path of a mum and her toddler, while a killer teen is seen launching a fatal knife attack in a tragic case of mistaken identity.
BirminghamLive has looked back on some of the most memorable stories, which feature shock footage from the end of 2023 and throughout 2024. Other headline-grabbing tales feature a heroic river rescue after a mum and her daughter became trapped in a submerged car.
While footage also showed a gunman, who had hidden in bushes, carrying out a shooting of a victim on a night out with his mates. An shop video shows a man wielding a hammer in a brutal shop attack.
READ MORE: Where’s the beef? Birmingham school bans meat from its menu
Here are a handful of shocking incidents and their videos from stories covered by BirminghamLive this year.
A second from disaster
Video Loading
Video Unavailable
Click to play
Tap to play
The video will auto-play soon8Cancel
Play now
A mum and her toddler daughter in a pushchair somehow escaped serious injuries after a car crashed and flipped into their path on the pavement. The astonishing collision happened near a zebra crossing in Olton, Solihull.
The car was shown on CCTV footage – obtained by BirminghamLive – veering off Warwick Road. It then strikes a lampost before being spun onto its side in December 2023.
Fortunately the quick-thinking pedestrian made the crucial decision to turn the pushchair away from the oncoming car outside a parade of shops. Seconds later the mum was seen clutching her daughter and sitting down on a chair outside a restaurant.
Shop workers came to the aid of the pair after the “terrible crash”. One witness said the mum was in shock and the girl, aged around two or three, was thought to have suffered a broken leg.
Horrifying stab murder
Muhammad Hassam Ali
(Image: WMP)
An innocent 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the middle of Birmingham in a tragic case of mistaken identity. Muhammad Ali had sat next to his pal in Victoria Square when the horrifying knife murder unfolded.
Footage showed the lads sat next to the Floozie in the Jacuzzi when they were confronted by two masked and hooded youths. It emerged that the 15-year-olds wrongly thought Muhammad, and his friend were responsible an earlier attack on one of their friends.
The CCTV footage then shows one of the boys producing a large knife. A small child is also seen playing nearby.
Video Loading
Video Unavailable
Click to play
Tap to play
The video will auto-play soon8Cancel
Play now
Tragically, budding engineer Muhammad was knifed in the chest before the pair flee. Paramedics rushed the victim to Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital on January 20, but the damage to his heart was too severe and Muhammad was later pronounced dead.
One of the 15-year-old boys, who can’t be named for legal reasons, was convicted of murder and possession of a knife earlier this year. He was ordered to be detained for at least 13 years. The other teen was convicted of manslaughter and possession of a bladed article and was jailed for five years following a sentencing hearing at Birmingham Crown Court in November.
Hero rescuer saves mum
Liam Stych and his partner Tia
(Image: Liam Stych)
A hero saved a mum and her three-year-old daughter from drowning in treacherous flood water. Liam Stych said he acted on “instinct.”
The 29-year-old sprang into action when he saw the trapped submerged in a car near a bridge in Hall Green on January 2. Liam managed to pull the young girl to safety from the car window within five minutes of making a 999 call.
He then used a ratchet from his van to free the mum and secured the Fiat to the bridge. Liam, from Acocks Green, said he hoped others “would do the same” for him if the roles were reversed.
Video Loading
Video Unavailable
Click to play
Tap to play
The video will auto-play soon8Cancel
Play now
But Liam said he left the scene disappointed “no-one helped” him rescue the pair despite “eight people standing around watching.”
Asked if he was proud of his bravery, he said: “To be honest it was just kind of instinct. If it were me or my family in any kind of difficulty like that, I’d hope someone would do the same for us and not just walk off.”
Police at the scene hailed his bravery and branded him a “local hero.”
Gunman hiding in bushes
Hayden Frost
A ‘calculated’ gunman lurked in the bushes waits for his victim to be alone before launching a terrifying attack. Hayden Frost fired a flurry of gunshots towards the man’s head as he ran for his life.
The 27-year-old, from Solihull, jumped on his e-bike to the Marston Green Tavern in Marston Green, where his victim was having drinks with friends. Frost then followed the man to the Iron Horse pub where he was caught on CCTV hiding in a bush.
The victim separated from his friends and walked to a nearby cashpoint. But Frost emerged and chased him, firing up to five gunshots before fleeing in September 2023.
Video Loading
Video Unavailable
Click to play
Tap to play
The video will auto-play soon8Cancel
Play now
The victim was left with bullet wounds to his neck. The bullet had travelled to the his right shoulder, where fragments of it still remain. West Midlands Police said the victim was also left with psychological scars and feared being alone in public.
Frost was convicted of attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court. He was jailed for 32 years in April.
The motive for the attack remained a mystery.
Brutal hammer attack
Jailed: Abdul Wahab
(Image: WMP)
A thug bludgeoned a customer’s head with a hammer in a Sparkhill shop before fleeing the country for Pakistan. Shock footage showed Abdul Wahab running into the convenience store clutching the weapon after spotting his victim standing at the counter on Stratford Road.
The 30-year-old was seen raising the weapon above his head. The footage was cut by police, but officers said Wahab smashed the hammer into the man’s head in a savage attack lasting six seconds.
The victim, in his 20s, had metal plates inserted into his skull and jaw following the assault in February. He also suffered a bleed on the brain and swelling.
Video Loading
Video Unavailable
Click to play
Tap to play
The video will auto-play soon8Cancel
Play now
Wahab was seen walking hurriedly away across a park where he threw the hammer into a lake. Wahab booked a flight and was at Heathrow Airport within hours before boarding a plane to Abu Dhabi.
He was later arrested at the airport after he returned to the UK in March. Wahab, from Sparkhill, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of an offensive weapon but was found guilty of attempted murder by a jury.
He was jailed for 21 years at Birmingham Crown Court in October.