24 Hours in Police Custody: New episode shows how Beds Police solved machete attack and shooting

At around 2am on 31 October 2019, a group of attackers shot a man three times outside his house in Luton, and used a machete to attack him before fleeing and burning the getaway car. When police arrived at the scene, they found a spent bullet casing, a bullet and a black balaclava covered in blood.

Channel 4 will uncover how Bedfordshire Police detectives solved the attempted murder, which the judge in the case called “a planned and targeted attack” that “bore the hallmarks of a gang attack”.

The episode will follow the force from the initial 999 call right up to the conviction of Samad Ali and Stephen O’Dell, who carried out the frenzied

The balaclava was linked to O’Dell through his DNA while a necklace, stolen from the victim, worn by Ali had both Ali’s blood and that of the victim on it.

In 2020, Ali and O’Dell both were handed sentences of 12 years and four months each for their part in leaving the victim with life-changing injuries.

The new episode will premiere on Channel 4 at 9pm on Wednesday, June 5.