A 33-year-old woman has died after being stabbed by her brother at a block of flats in Wolverhampton. Their mother is also in critical condition.
The woman died at the scene and the suspected attacker, 36, died shortly after stabbing himself. Their mother, 59, was being treated for potentially life-threatening stab wounds to her stomach, West Midlands police said.
Armed police and air ambulances were dispatched to Leasowes Drive, in the Merry Hill area of the city, on Wednesday morning. Officers used stun grenades as they stormed the flat in a bid to distract and detain the knifeman, and used Tasers to confront the man, the force said.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission has launched an investigation into the incident as officers were in contact with the man before he died.
Two officers suffered minor injuries during the operation, said police. One was stabbed in the arm and another received a leg injury when being chased by the suspect. Both officers were treated at the scene.
Ch Supt Keith Fraser, of West Midlands police, said: “I want to stress that the man was armed, so we had to act quickly and officers did that.
“It’s a really shocking incident and our sympathy goes out to friends and families of those involved.”
Officers had deployed their Taser, which was initially ineffective, Fraser said.
In a statement, Fraser later added: “Our officers knew there was an armed man behind the front door of that flat, they acted swiftly and with huge courage to quickly gain entry and detain the man. However, it was clear he too had suffered a serious knife wound and died shortly afterwards.”
The Midlands air ambulances from Cosford, Strensham and Staffordshire were sent to the scene along with three more ambulances, three paramedics and the West Midlands care team doctor.
A neighbour told the Guardian that police had cordoned off the flats, keeping the public around 100 yards away. “There was at least 15 cop cars, five ambulances and then you’ve got all the undercover police coming in and out and they were all armed ... They looked worried for sure,” said Kelsey Nuttall, 26.
Nuttall was walking her dogs on Wednesday morning when two police came running towards her, she said. “They told me to move away, that a mad man was stabbing someone and nobody was allowed to enter the building.”
Nuttall said she had a passing acquaintance with the mother. “I said hi and bye to her and whatnot. She’s so polite, quiet ... We’ve not really heard much on the girl and the guy.”
The death, which happened on International Women’s Day, will underline the issue of male violence against women.
A West Midlands ambulance service spokesman said: “A man and woman estimated to be in their 30s had suffered very serious stab wounds. Sadly, despite best efforts by ambulance staff, it was not possible to save either of them and they were confirmed dead at the scene.
“Another woman was taken on blue lights to the major trauma centre at the Queen Elizabeth hospital, Birmingham, with potentially life-threatening stab wounds.”
Nearby St Michael’s school was placed on lockdown during the incident but later reopened. Residents in neighbouring flats were ordered to leave their properties.
IPCC commissioner Derrick Campbell said: “These were traumatic events in Wolverhampton this morning and my sympathies go out to all those affected. Our investigators are now busy conducting initial enquiries to gather a full picture of the police involvement in what unfolded. It is proper that in such a serious incident as this there is independent scrutiny of what took place.”
DI Warren Hines added: “We’re working hard to get to the bottom of exactly what happened. Anyone with information they believe could help our enquiry, anything that may have happened in the hours or days before this tragic event, I’d urge them to get in touch with me.”
Postmortems are expected to take place on Thursday.
