Four arrests as man dies after suspected assault at North East flat

At about 2.40am on Friday, January 3, Northumbria Police received a report of a disturbance at a flat in Eslington Court in the Teams area of Gateshead.

It was reported a number of people were trying to force entry to harm the occupants.

Two men were taken to hospital and three men, aged 39, 37 and 20, were arrested at the scene on suspicion of burglary.

A 39-year-old woman has since been arrested.

One victim had suffered a non-life threatening head injury while the other reported pain in his shoulder and arm.

The man suffering pain in his shoulder later fell ill, then collapsed and died, despite the efforts of medical staff.

Inquiries are under way to establish whether he died as a result of injuries sustained in the assault. A post-mortem examination is due later on Friday.

Northumbria Police’s Superintendent Dave Cole is overseeing the investigation and has appealed for anyone with information to get in touch.

He said: “We are still trying to piece together exactly what has happened but we know a number of people were in the area at the time of the disturbance.

“One of the men who was involved in the disturbance has sadly died in the hours after this incident and so we are taking this very seriously.

“It is not clear if he has died as a result of injuries sustained in an assault but a full post-mortem will take place in due course.

“If it becomes clear that his cause of death is connected to the attack then we will be treating this as a homicide investigation.

“We do believe this is an isolated incident between people who do know each other but officers will be on patrol in the area to reassure residents who may have concerns.

“Officers will also be carrying out house-to-house enquiries and we still need anyone with information about what happened to get in touch.”

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact police on 101 quoting log 76 03/01/20 or by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Information can also be reported online at the Northumbria Police website.