The incident took place at Al-Qamar restaurant on Vincent Street when a pregnant woman ran into diners’ arms to escape the violent attacker
Diners at a restaurant in Birmingham were “targeted with a baseball bat and knife” after the same attacker left a pregnant woman with a serious injury.
The incident took place at Al-Qamar restaurant on Vincent Street, Balsall Heath, when a pregnant woman ran into the restaurant to escape her attacker. This happened just as diner Akilah Bennett and her family were about to leave the eatery, with the attacked woman “running into their arms, screaming she had been attacked”.
Just moments later, a man arrived outside the restaurant with a baseball bat. At first, Ms Bennett thought the attacker and the woman were known to each other, but it quickly became obvious that that wasn’t the case.
Ms Bennett, 31, told Birmingham Live: “He was waving the baseball bat around and trying to hit all of us, my uncle was brave and stood in the middle to protect the woman. The owner recognised his face and believed he was local to Balsall Heath.
“The woman said she was walking home and he hit her in the elbow with a baseball bat. No one knew what he was saying. He was aiming for this woman but I don’t think he even knew who she was.”
The diner said that the attacker was chased away by her uncle, the restaurant owner and others present, but the man returned with a knife. Ms Bennett said: “Me and my cousin rounded everyone in and we shut the door to the restaurant,
“I was just standing by the door and I didn’t know what would happen if he came in, we just wanted to keep everyone safe. It was nice to know the owner of the restaurant was there and protecting people.
“He seemed quite aggravated by other members of the public but ended up going away. The police and ambulance arrived quite quickly, but at the time it felt like forever.”
Ms Bennett added: “It’s a shame we had to hide in the restaurant because it was a lovely meal and the staff were amazing at how they dealt with the incident.” A spokesperson for West Midlands Police confirmed that the incident took place just before 10pm on July 14 on Vincent Street.
Officers were called to the scene after a woman was assaulted. The spokesperson said: “The woman sustained a serious arm injury and was taken to hospital.
“Members of the public who attempted to intervene were also threatened with a knife. We are reviewing CCTV footage and speaking to witnesses.
“Anyone with information, particularly any footage, is asked to call 101 quoting log 6300 of 14 July.”