Violent thugs told Selly victim: ‘I’m going to fucking kill you, I’ve got a knife’

A traumatised Birmingham University student has spoken exclusively to The Tab about his terrifying encounter with the Selly Oak ski masked muggers.

The victim – who wishes to remain anonymous – was assaulted as he walked back from Fitness First in Stirchley at around 8:45pm last Tuesday.

On his normal walk home from the gym alone the evening quickly took a dark turn when two men in ski masks approached him from behind.

He said: “I’d just put my earphones in and then I felt something. It was like when a mate comes and punches you in the back, but a little bit more forceful.

“I turned around and saw these two guys in ski masks and I was surprised. I thought to myself ‘is this really happening?'”

The attack happened in Selly Oak

“They tried to assault me, but it was a bit feeble – I was more annoyed than scared.

“They jumped on my back, I wasn’t really sure what was going on. It was like a Crimewatch reenactment, one of them said ‘I’m going to fucking kill you, I’ve got a knife’.”

The student did not quite fight back because he believed his attackers were armed.

He continued: “One of them had an open knife carrier on the side of his pocket and I was worried he might reach for it.

“I gave them my phone and they ran off.”

The thieves managed a speedy getaway as they had a third member waiting for them in a car nearby.

The student approached the driver of  a nearby car and explained to them what had happened, but they did not help.

He then ran to the corner shop on Warwards Lane to phone the police.

“I got to the corner shop two or three minutes later and asked to borrow the shopkeeper’s phone, but he just said ‘We don’t really deal with that’.

“Luckily, someone in the shop lent me their phone to call the police.

“The police reacted quickly and used Find my iPhone to track my stolen phone.

“They traced it to a takeaway shop in a rough area of Birmingham and we drove over straight away.

“The man there said that the thieves had tried to sell him my phone, so they must have known him as they went there straight after they attacked me.

“The man in the shop said that the thieves had gone in with their hoods down, so it’s been caught on CCTV and as it’s private property we’ll need a court order to have access to the footage.

“But the police blocked my phone so it’s literally a paperweight to them now.”

The student was walking back from the gym alone

The student expressed his surprise at the amount of people still walking around Selly Oak alone.

He added: “I thought for me it was just a one off, but clearly this is a planned.

“They know the area and they know to target the students, they seem to go for people at those early opportunistic times, between 6pm and 12am.

“I think the police need to be more vigilant.

“There has been an increased police presence over the last week but I keep seeing people walking back alone.

“I live with four girls and we now all set alarms to meet each other and walk back in groups.”

Reflecting further on the ordeal, the student added: “At least it wasn’t any worse and I didn’t have any money on me.

“I’ve been lucky, I worry to think what may have happened if I had nothing to give them.

“I don’t think the attackers are intending to hurt anyone, but if someone tried to attack them back they might retaliate.”

The mugging last Tuesday was the first in a series of violent attacks on students in the Selly Oak, sparking fear in those living around that area.

Anyone with any further information is urged to contact the police by calling 101, or 999 if witnessing an incident and it is safe to do so.