Tonight:
9°c
Two teenagers stabbed to death in seven hours
Mark Blunden, Rob Singh and Benedict Moore-Bridger31.03.08
Two teenagers were stabbed to death in London's bloodiest day of juvenile violence this year.
Amro Elbadawi, 14, was killed in West Kilburn on his way home from school and Devoe Roach, 17, was attacked in Stamford Hill, apparently after a dispute started on a bus.
The deaths, which bring to 11 the number of teenagers killed in violence this year, came on the day Mayor Ken Livingstone launched his manifesto for tackling crime.
Detectives believe Amro and his attacker were best friends who may have fallen out. A 16-year-old boy gave himself up at Paddington police station soon after the stabbing at 5.15pm yesterday. He was being questioned today.
Detective Chief Inspector Colin Lee, leading the investigation, said Amro died of a stab wound to the neck and the knife thought to have been used in the attack had been recovered. He added: "They were friends. They had known each other for some time and the interplay between them has resulted in this tragic outcome. The facts are that we have a dead 14-year-old boy and we don't know what the catalyst was for the knife fight and we cannot say it was a playfight."
Amro's girlfriend, Ihsan, today laid flowers and a note at the scene of his death. Her note read: "To the best boyfriend in the world (AMRO), I miss you and love you very much you'll never be forgotten. you'll remain in my heart its still doesn't feel real, I ceep execting a call or txt from you. amro rember we had plans for 2day man - mabey on the otherside. love you gone but not forgotten."
Amro was attacked in Dart Street, yards from home on the Mozart estate in Queens Park. Bleeding badly, he staggered into a health centre where doctors tried to revive him. He died in St Mary's Hospital, Paddington.
Friends said Amro, who attended Paddington Academy, came from a close knit family of seven brothers and sisters. His parents are Egyptian and he was born there but the family came to Britain just before he began at secondary school.
On MySpace, Amro was named as part of the SD Crew, whose initials were said to stand for "Street Dreamz/Street Disciples/Secret Dealers". The gang claims to consist of 50 "soldiers" and "yungas" - younger members.
Friend Tarek, 18, posted a tribute saying: "RIP Amro, I love you to bits. I won't 4get u, I love u Amro. Rest in peace bro, I will neva forget you."
The dead boy's older brother said: "Amro wasn't bad, he wasn't involved in gangs. He had lots of friends at school. This is a terrible thing that has happened."
A steady stream of mourners, groups of Muslim women in hijabs, arrived at the family's groundfloor council flat to pay their condolences. Neighbours told how they heard shouting and screams. One said: "He was in a group that were always hanging around at the back of the building. There's a broken down wall there where they play games using pennies."
Another of Amro's friends, who did not want to be named, said: "I heard he got shanked. I don't know why. He was a good person. He was well known and respected in the area."
A post-mortem examination was taking place at Westminster mortuary.
Amro's death came just seven hours after Devoe was attacked in Tottenham High Road, Stamford Hill, as he went on an errand with a friend.
The Stoke Newington boy was stabbed in the chest outside the Turnpike House pub. The killer fled.
Family friend Charles Quagraine, 45, said: "These boys asked Devoe what he was looking at. He was stabbed because someone thought he was looking at them, it's as stupid as that."
Devoe, who lived with his mother Dionne, was taken to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel but died about an hour later. Police have appealed for witnesses. The suspect was 18 to 20, of Asian or Turkish appearance, 5ft 7in-5ft 10in and wore a dark top and possibly a woolly hat.
Last year, 27 teenagers were killed in London.
TOLL OF VIOLENCE: TEENAGERS KILLED THIS YEAR
1 January: Henry Bolombi, 18, stabbed, Edmonton
5 January: Faridon Alizada, 18, stabbed, Erith
21 January: Boduka Mudianga, 18, stabbed, Edmonton
26 January:Fuad Buraleh, 19, beaten, West Ealing
19 February: Sunday Essiet, 15, stabbed, Woolwich
23 February: Tung Lee, 17, stabbed, Islington
29 February: Ofiyke Nmezu, 16, beaten, Enfield
13 March: Michael Alexander Jones, 18, stabbed, Edmonton Green
14 March: Nicholas Clarke, 19, shot, Brixton
27 March: Devoe Roach, 17, stabbed, Stamford Hill.
27 March: Amro Elbadawi, 14, stabbed. West Kilburn.
Reader views (20)
I seriously feel so sorry for the parents - some parents don't try they just leave there children and don't help them but some really do try but the children just don't listen and do whatever they want. I just feel really bad.
- Emma, London
I feel sorry for all them parents that have to find out your son/daughter has just been stabbed, shoot or even been beating up to death and having to put up with that feeling and emotion in my opinion all of this has to come to and end otherwise you never no when its going to be your turn your parents having to go through that emotion
- Issac Brooks, London - UK
This is so sad. Amro was one of best guys on the streets. We've known him since primary school and even though we've moved school a few years ago his still remembered as if it was yesterday.... We'll miss him, R.I.P Amro Always stay in our hearts....
- Sara Kuda-Morad And Randa Ahmed, UK
I feel sorry for such a young life being taken.
I grew up in a rough Estate, however, my parents
taught me right from wrong and that education and hard work was the key to success. If you live by the knife you die by the knife.
These youngsters watch MTV and think they can achieve fame and gain fortune like these fake rappers/ so called gangsters. However, the reality is they will end up dead, in prison or in a mental health institution if they carry on mugging, and dealing drugs. Because without hard, honest work criminality is the only way for them to make money.
So please parents take responsibility for your siblings and don’t let them join these useless gangs.
- Ahmed Ali, London - UK
Is there a common thread that joins most of these murders? Now don't start shouting racist, because unlike the UK we don't have a race or religious problem here, so I am wondering whether any of the victims were white,anglo-saxon, Christian, Jewish or catholic? Perhaps other races and religions have different ways of resolving their disagreements. Professionals probably blame it all on evolvement and environment.
- Leslie Mellows, London,Ontario,Canada.
Matilda do not try in anyway to tarnish the memory of Amro. I knew him personally, may as not much as others, but enough to know he doesn't get into gangs he wasn't bad in anyway. He's a fun loving guy who'd most importantly love to hang out with his friends.
R.I.P. Amro you will never be forgotten
- Gokhan Karatay, london
I still own a flat in Stamford Hill. Every night the near-by children`s play area is swarming with hoody yobs dealing drugs and stolen goods. The locals do not dare venture out. We never see the police. I think they have withdrawn their foot patrol.
- Simon Mctintock, London, UK
Amron was a god boy, I knew him, he came to my school. He was my older and always told me stay out of trouble and stay strong. He was not in any gang business, he just represented the area, Mozart. I loved him a lot he made us laugh, teachers in school loved him a lot R.I.P AMRON peace be upon you.
- Miracle, Mozart street west end
It is so hard to believe that something like this could happen so close to home, particularly when I pass SD members on a daily basis. My family all attend Paddington Academy and are extremely shocked at this tragic event. My best wishes are with Amro's parents, siblings and friends. He was so young and had his entire life ahead of him; it's such a shame that it went to waste.
He was, however, part of Street Dreams, and it just yet again proves that gangs are destroying British society.
[R.I.P AMRO]
You'll never be forgotten.
27/03/08
xo
- Anonymous, West London
<sarcasm on>
With guns now banned, it's nice to see that the UK is finally safe enough for children to roam the streets.
<sarcasm off>
Unfortunately, looking at the picture in the article, it looks like that's where he and his friends were headed. If your sole goal in life is to be a "gansta" then your life is going to be rather bleak.
The answer isn't more "bans" or more laws, it's to stop teaching kids that the coolest thing in the whole world is to become a worthless street thug just like they see on MTV. We constantly push filth into their brains and are surprised when they act like animals and kill each other.
These kids don't need "programs", they need parents. My teenage kids don't roam the streets all day and night simply because I don't let them. I know, it's a novel idea, telling your kids "No, you aren't going anywhere without me", but it actually works. When you put parenting on automatic pilot and let the world teach your kids how to behave, and let them run around with all the other kids whose parents don't care, then these are the results you get. It's really not rocket science.
- Bob, Chicago, IL
I knew Amro, he's not like this.. he was really smart and I don't think he was involved in gangs. Dat SD crew thing was just a gathering of friends.
R.I.P Amro
- Amad, London
The bottom line is that kids need other things to occupy them. Boredom, through lack of clubs and activities, leads to the things we witness on a daily basis. We cannot hide the fact that this is out of control. The punishments for anti-social behaviour are too lenient, and until we fully address this issue, we will continue to grieve for our kids.
- Anthony, London
i didn't know Amro but i know of him. and I know he wasn't a bad breed. Yeah he hung around with a couple of boys in a gang, but it most probably gave him confidence. You cannot blame youths for this attack as it was his best friend, I understand if it was a gang fight but they were friends. I admit that young boys in the streets of London form gangs and I know it isn't right. There needs to be something to get young teenage girls and boys off the streets and into something that matters. As a youth in the streets of London myself I feel that when someone gets stabbed, bricked, shot, attacked young people are automatically blamed. But the government don't have any time for us. Schools are teaching stupid thing like history and geography that we don't learn anything from, when we should be learning about the own area we are growing up in. As a youth myself and formally being part of a gang, it feels to me like we boys carry knifes for our own protection. Also postal codes cause a lot of trouble, if I am from n18 and a boy is from n17 he would want to fight me. If a boy from n17 was caught 'slipping' by a group of n18 boys he would get beaten up, mugged and recorded simply because he's mum bought a house in n17 instead of n18. Also schools have fights against each other. It's stupidity and the government needs to start looking out for us because the murders of young people in the UK are getting worse. I just read that 27 people were killed last year and already 11 this year!
- Romeo Charles, London, Edmonton.
I hope this child rests in peace but by that picture I find his brothers words that he wasn't in a "gang" untrue. And what on earth was his best friend doing with a knife anyway surely they couldn't have fallen out that bad for this boy to be looking at doing life and for his friend to die.
Something needs to be done about the youth of today. They are all out of control. They need something to focus there energy on...like homework.
- Matilda, London
Perhaps the police should ban youths from gatherings of two or more on these estates.
- Adam, Harrow, UK
I cant believe that the youth alone are being blamed, isn't it time that we realised if there were youth clubs and facilities provided to distract the young from a life on the street, then there would have to be a drop in these types of incidents, good old red ken loves to knock the Tories but the biggest injustice they ever did has never been addressed.
- Symon Brown, London, UK
If you live by the sword you die by the sword.
What are these idiots doing?
- Michael Cooper, London
"Soldiers"??! While they may be mere kids, they must surely understand that to court that sort of thing makes suffering a violent death at the hands of an equally brainwashed nonentity one of the possible outcomes, no?
Real soldiers fight for a purpose, not necessarily one that everyone will agree with, but there is a certain dignity to that which, unfortunately, few of these people will ever comprehend.
- Helen, London, UK
What a tragic loss to society.
- Squiz, Islington
So, Ken, the media is hyping these knife murders? I'm sure you'd like the press to completely ignore them. They don't make for particularly good re-election bulletins, do they?
- R M, London, UK
