Police name three men wanted following vicious homophobic attack in Birmingham

These are the three men police are hunting in relation to a violent homophobic assault in Birmingham’s Gay Village, which left two men bloodied and bruised after they were viciously attacked with bottles.

They are Sohail Khan (24), Mosin Mahmood (31) and 21-year-old Ishaaq Ayaz, all from Birmingham.

The assault happened in the early hours of last Sunday Morning (15 August) outside in Bromsgrove Street after a group of men hurled homophobic abuse at the pair from a passing car.

The offenders grabbed one of the victim’s mobile phones and then attacked them with bottles, knocking one unconscious and leaving the other with nasty cuts.

West Midlands Police have carried out extensive CCTV, witness and vehicle enquiries; allowing them to now name the three men they want to speak to about the shocking incident.

Sergeant Marc Petford from Force CID said: “We have already completed a number of arrest attempts for the men; I would encourage them to hand themselves in and speak to us.

“This was a shocking homophobic attack on two men enjoying a night out in our city. It’s outrageous and we’re determined to bring to justice the people responsible.”

Homophobic attack

Two men, Rob and Patrick, were abused and violently attacked with bottles and subjected to homophobic abuse in what police described as an “appalling hate crime” in Birmingham’s Gay Village.

Both in their 30s, the victims were outside the Missing bar at around 4am on Saturday night when four men in a black SUV shouted homophobic abuse at them before leaving the car and viciously assaulting them. The attack left both victims covered in blood from cuts to their head and arms. Patrick was also knocked unconscious.

During the attack, Patrick had his phone snatched by one of the thugs as he tried to film the abuse, and one of their female friends was dragged along by the car as she tried to get it back, resulting in the woman suffering a foot injury.

When Rob chased the car to challenge the men, they stopped at a red light, got out of the car and began attacking him with bottles. Patrick said he ran to help but was then knocked unconscious by one of the men.

Speaking to the BBC, Rob said: “It’s just shocking that would happen in 2021 in the UK. Especially in the Gay Village, that should be a safe area to be who you want and not have to tolerate people yelling homophobic remarks at you.”

West Midlands mayor Andy Street, the first openly gay directly elected metro mayor, said: “There is no place in our home for this disgusting, homophobic behaviour. I’m sure the police will do all they can to catch the perpetrators and punish them with the full force of the law.”

Figures obtained by the BBC last year from all 45 police forces in the UK revealed reported homophobic hate crime cases had almost trebled – from 6,655 in 2014-15, the year same sex marriage became legal in England, to 18,465 in 2019-20.

The statistics show a 20% rise in reports to police of homophobic hate crime, according to the data which was obtained through Freedom of Information requests, which police forces suggest could reflect a greater confidence in reporting such crimes.

If you know where the wanted men are, contact on 101, message West Midlands Police on Live Chat via their website or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111. Anyone with information on their whereabouts is urged to contact WMP, quoting log 552 of 15 August.