A 19-year-old man thought to have been stabbed in the neck during a fight outside a boxing venue has died, police said.
Detectives with West Midlands Police have now launched a murder investigation.
Officers at the scene initially described “large-scale disorder”, which erupted during the event at Walsall Town Hall on Saturday night, leaving the young man in critical condition and several others injured.
Police said “large-scale disorder” erupted during the event at Walsall Town Hall on Saturday night (Richard Vernalls/PA)
A police statement read: “Walsall disorder update – the injured teen has sadly passed away. This is now a murder inquiry. Our thought are with family and friends.”
People inside the venue described how a “skirmish” was sparked off while the bout was under way, after hundreds of spectators had gathered for the headline IBF Youth Lightweight Title fight.
However, serious violence then erupted outside the West Midlands venue, shortly before midnight, after security staff had ejected a number of people outside following the initial fracas.
A police cordon was put up and then expanded to including surrounding streets around the town centre venue, while forensics investigations continued in a bid to piece together what happened.
Officers have been speaking to people who may have seen the incident and CCTV is being studied in a bid to identify anybody involved.
Several hundred spectators had turned up to see The World Awaits bout’s main contest between local prospect Luke Paddock and Myron Mills, from Derby.
Meanwhile, event promoter, Black Country Boxing (BCB), said: “Our thoughts are with the victims and we will be liaising fully with the police and the venue.”
In a statement, BCB added that all members of the public had been given a full-body search going into the venue, in line with boxing industry regulations, and all drinks were served in plastic glasses.
The company said: “In the final rounds of the top bill fight a fracas began inside the venue and security ushered a number of those in attendance outside, in order for the promotion to continue.”
BCB cancelled another event which had been scheduled to take place at the town hall on Sunday due to what it called the “serious incident”.
Walsall Council, whose headquarters are just yards from the scene, said it was supporting the police investigation.