Ukrainian charged after mosque death

West Midlands police said it had charged Pavlo Lapshyn, a post graduate student from Dnipropetrovsk, with the killing of Mohammed Saleem in April.

He will now appear before Westminster magistrates’ court on Tuesday.

Mr Lapshyn was initially arrested last week by officers carrying out a counter-terrorism investigation into three separate explosions near mosques in Walsall, Wolverhampton and Tipton, and is still being questioned in connection with that inquiry.

The 22-year-old Ukrainian had been detained last week along with a 25-year-old fellow Ukrainian in the Small Heath area of Birmingham in connection with the explosions in the West Midlands.

He is now helping counter-terrorism officers as a witness, West Midlands police said.

‘Thorough investigation’

Police cordons are expected to be lifted in Tipton and Wolverhampton on Monday, while officers continue to search an industrial unit in Small Heath and a forensic team is investigating the area near where Mr Saleem was attacked.

Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale, of West Midlands police, said: “I would like to thank the public for their ongoing support and the way in which they responded to our appeals for help with each of these crimes.

“The murder of Mohammed Saleem now forms part of the wider West Midlands counter terrorism unit inquiry and will be thoroughly investigated.

“I appreciate that there has been significant disruption whilst experts search each of the affected locations, but equally I hope that people understand the need to both ensure public safety whilst conducting a thorough investigation.”