A man stabbed a passenger on a bus in Birmingham and threatened a pregnant woman with a knife before being arrested.
Somers attacked people on a Birmingham bus. He stabbed a guy in the back, fought with another man, and threatened a pregnant lady with a knife.
He thought a man talked “about death” at a bus stop. So, Somers followed the man onto the number 51 bus and shoved the man’s back. The guy did not know about the stab. He realized it later at his hotel. Somers then attacked another man on the bus. A pregnant woman tried to stop him, but he pointed the knife at her.
He drank whiskey that day and struggles with paranoid schizophrenia and psychosis. The court heard about these issues.
Somers, aged 40, is from Digbeth’s Bradford Street. He admitted to offenses, including wounding and weapon charges, receiving two years and nine months.
The bus incident happened after 10:45 pm on October 16. The prosecutor said the stabbed man was at a bus stop, talking to others. Somers told him to stop talking about death, but the victim never spoke of death. Somers showed a knife and threatened him.
The man got on the number 51 for safety. Somers followed him and told the man to get the next bus. Then, Somers shoved him. The man felt a push and sat down on the bus. Somers sat across from him and spoke loudly. The man left the bus and took a taxi to his hotel.
He felt pain in his back during the taxi ride. At the hotel, the driver found a stab wound. The cut was shallow, about 50mm deep, and doctors glued it at the hospital.
After this, Somers boarded the bus again. He stood and attacked a man, pulling him from his seat. They grappled towards the front of the bus, hitting the CCTV screen and breaking it. Other passengers yelled and showed fear. Somers pulled out the knife again and pushed it toward the man, who held Somers back by his throat.
A woman, possibly with that man, got involved. Someone said she was pregnant. Somers aimed his knife at her stomach, but he stopped and left the bus.
Somers had many past convictions with 104 offences. They included assaults and robberies.
Somers wrote a letter to the court. He said he hadn’t been in trouble lately and needed help with his mental health, feeling prison made things worse for him.
His lawyer said Somers has mental health issues with highs and lows and that day was a bad one. He had never gained “psychiatric control” and was only being given medicine in jail. The lawyer asked for a lighter sentence because Somers was ill, knowing he has a problem when he’s unwell. He tried to manage alone but failed and has a lifelong condition.
Somers said he drank whiskey that day. The judge said Somers stabbed the first victim and wasn’t a man of good character. The sentence was given on February 21.