Police have named a father-of-one who died after he was stabbed in broad daylight outside a busy shopping centre.
Pictured is Karl Gallagher, 31, who suffered a stab wound to his heart after an incident outside West Cross Shopping Centre in Smethwick, West Midlands.
He died following the incident, which took place 4.40pm on Sunday, April 26.
Eight people have been arrested after police launched a murder investigation.
Mr Gallagher’s death came as Britain endured a weekend of bloodshed that left two others dead and a 16-year-old boy fighting for his life in hospital.
Karl Gallagher (pictured left and right), 31, suffered a stab wound to his heart after an incident outside West Cross Shopping Centre in Smethwick, West Midlands. Police have arrested eight people after launching a murder investigation
Medical equipment shown marking the ground outside West Cross Shopping Centre, Smethwick, where a 31-year-old man died after being stabbed
Three people were killed and one was left fighting for his life over the weekend. The fatal attacks were in Newham and Smethwick. A man was due to appear in court yesterday charged with murder in Hackney.
Tributes have since been paid following the death of Mr Gallagher, who leaves behind a young daughter.
In a statement released through West Midlands Police, Mr Gallagher’s family said: ‘Karl was a very dearly loved son, brother, nephew, cousin and partner.
‘He was also a proud and loving father. His friends and family are devastated.’
Police say two men aged 19, as well as a 21-year-old and a 20-year-old have been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Three others men, aged 20, 21 and 22, have been held on suspicion of assisting an offender.
A 24-year-old man has also been held on suspicion of obstructing police.
Officers say they raided six properties overnight, and continue to examine CCTV and mobile phone footage from the scene of the stabbing.
Detective Chief Inspector Jim Munro said: ‘We’ve made significant progress over the past 24 hours and are building up a clearer picture of the events of Sunday afternoon.’
Mr Gallagher’s death came on a weekend where, in a separate incident, a man in his 20s was stabbed to death in Newham, east London, and in another incident, on Saturday, a man died following an incident in Hackney.
Also at the weekend, a 16-year-old boy was left in a critical condition after two separate knife attacks in the West Midlands.
Two teenagers were stabbed in broad daylight in Solihull at around 2.40pm yesterday
A 16-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man were taken to hospital after the attack which police are treating as attempted murder
Police arrested a 14-year-old boy on suspicion of attempted murder after two teenagers were stabbed in broad daylight in Solihull at around 2.40pm on Sunday.
Dramatic footage of the incident shows a group of youths fighting near Marston Green Park moments before the attack.
In the earlier West Midlands stabbing, near Marston Green Park, the 16-year-old boy was rushed to hospital and was previously said to be in a critical condition.
Another teenager, 19, was also taken to hospital but has been described as stable.
The 14-year-old suspect remained in custody as of last night as witnesses were urged to contact West Midlands Police with any information.
Police arrested a 14-year-old boy on suspicion of attempted murder after an attack near Marston Green Park in the town (Pictured: police at the scene)
A police car closing off the road in Newham after a man in his 20s was stabbed to death
A man was found with serious injuries following an attack at the West Cross Shopping Centre in Smethwick (Pictured: police at the scene)
The victim had suffered knife injuries and the air ambulance was called − but unfortunately the man was pronounced dead before he could be taken on board
In Newham, police launched an investigation after officers were called to reports of a stabbing in Lambert Road at 10.26pm on Sunday.
They found a man aged in his 20s at the scene with stab wounds.
He was rushed to an east London hospital where he later died.
No arrests have yet been made.
In another separate incident, a man was due to appear at Thames magistrates’ court on Monday charged with murder over the death of a man in Trinity Close, Hackney.
The incident was said to have taken place at 12.25pm on Saturday.
Romayne Husbands, 26, from east London, was arrested by homicide detectives, reports the Evening Standard.
Police were called to Lambert Road (pictured) at 10:26pm on Sunday after an incident