A man who was stabbed in the heart as he spoke to his girlfriend on the phone "died in his parents’ arms", police have revealed.
James Brindley, 26, had been on a night out with friends when he was knifed outside a parade of shops in Walsall just before midnight last night.
Four schoolboys aged 16, who had left their school prom, helped James after finding him bleeding on the ground before calling his parents, said West Midlands Police.
But despite those and paramedics best efforts, he died as his parents cradled him, reports the Birmingham Mail.
Police have released CCTV of four cars they want to trace as the occupants may have witnessed the attack.
They said they are unsure of a motive for the attack but have launched a murder investigation.
Detective Inspector Jim Munro said Mr Brindley had been drinking with his friends in a Wetherspoons pub in the Aldridge area on Friday night and was making his way home when he was attacked at about 11.45pm.
“We have him captured on CCTV at this point, then he walks along a part where there’s no CCTV coverage, and the next time we pick him up on camera he has been stabbed and is staggering to his death,” he said.
His family are said to be "distraught".
In a statement, they said: "Outwardly, James appeared to be a jack the lad, without a care in the world, but that belied his true nature.
"He was deeply sensitive and fiercely loyal to his family and friends. He was a very straightforward and trusting person."
Det Insp Munro said: "At present there is no clear motive for this attack and I would ask anyone who witnessed or has any information about what happened to come forward as a matter of urgency.
"A young man has lost his life in brutal circumstances and someone will have knowledge of who has done this.
"We have spoken to several people who were in the location last night, but we are still asking people to come forward to help us piece together what happened and the motive behind the attack.
"James' family are understandably distraught at his loss and our thoughts remain with them."
A cordon and remained in place in Aldridge Croft today as forensic experts continued to search the scene.
A post-mortem is currently underway.
Brian Stanton, 79, who lives in the flats opposite where the stabbing took place, said: “Last night we saw flashing lights up and down because you can see them through the blinds and all of a sudden the lights stopped.
"I thought that’s funny so I stuck my head out the window.
"I saw there was an ambulance there and realised somebody had been stabbed.”
“They fetched the body this morning.
"There was one ambulance then there were four ambulances, hoards of police cars, I’ve never seen so many police men in all my life, it was full all the way down.”
Another resident said: “Aldridge has always been a nice, quiet village but recently there’s been some trouble with people drinking and stuff like that.”
Jacquee Moseley, who lives near Aldridge Croft, said she feared the worse when she heard police sirens last night.
She said: "There were lots of police and ambulance sirens. I was about to go to bed but these alarms keep going on. I knew it was something bad.
"I've lived here all my life and it's a lovely area it just seems recently that we've had some spate of crimes."
Marjorie Downing, 79, said: "I was coming out to do shopping earlier to miss the rush and then police were everywhere and had blocked off the street.
"A private ambulance came and took someone away. When I heard that a young man had died I thought how terrible."
Another local, who did not want to be named, said: "It's a nice quiet town centre.
"I can't believe it. The poor lad's family. I'm thinking of them.
"It really puts things into perspective, a young lad has needlessly lost his life."
Police say information can be given by calling 101 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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