Youth worker Jamie O'Neill, 39, said he warned police and social workers about the rapidly escalating violence against 15-year-old Amen Teklay days before he was fatally stabbed in Glasgow. O'Neill, who runs Kingsway Community Centre, reported seeing clips of Amen being attacked by a group of boys three days and three weeks before his death on March 5 last year.
Missed Opportunities to Save a Life
O'Neill told the Daily Record: 'I was sent footage of Amen being attacked. One was from three days before his death and the other was from three weeks earlier. I immediately reported this to the police and social workers. I warned them that violence towards him by a gang called TCB was escalating rapidly.' He added: 'The videos clearly showed targeted attacks - yet nothing was done. Opportunities were missed to tackle this violence and opportunities were missed to prevent Amen's death.'
Two boys, aged 16 and 17, were cleared of Amen's murder on Monday following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow. The court heard the 17-year-old denied gang involvement, but the 16-year-old was said to be in TCB, which stands for 'Taking Care of Business.'
Gang Activity and Social Media Posts
Social media posts before Amen's death showed members of TCB visiting Kingsway, where Amen lived. A photo shared with the Record showed members outside Kingsway Court with faces covered, captioned: 'TC boys posted up in K-way flats.' A rap song after Amen's death included the lyrics: 'Praying for a body and the end it came with Amen.'
O'Neill emailed police expressing fears a child would die without intervention, but claims officers did not contact him until the day of Amen's death. He said: 'Police and social work were aware of the footage. Maybe their services are so badly under-resourced that they simply cannot tackle this epidemic head-on, but despite my warning, Amen ultimately died.'
Plea for Help Ignored
O'Neill tried to help Amen directly, speaking to him and his friends. He said: 'After contacting police and social work for help, I didn't know what else to do other than reach out to Amen and ask him to come and see me. He was upset and he felt humiliated that these attacks had been filmed and shared online.'
The Daily Record's 'Our Kids ... Our Future' campaign, launched in February 2023, calls for safe spaces for children and action against social media platforms hosting violent clips. O'Neill warned: 'If we keep failing to tackle this issue we are only weeks away from another tragedy.'
Political and Official Responses
Scottish Labour justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill said: 'My thoughts are with the family of Amen Teklay. Knife crime is a scourge on our society. Any strategy must have a focus on prevention, with funding for efforts to speak with young people about crime and educating them about consequences.'
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: 'Our thoughts are very much with Amen's family and friends. The circumstances leading up to this incident are being investigated by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner and it would not be appropriate for us to comment further at this time.'
A spokeswoman for the Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership said: 'We don't discuss the circumstances around individual young people however this is a tragic case. To suggest that concerns raised to social work services were not acted upon because of resourcing issues is wholly inaccurate.'
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'Ministers' thoughts continue to be with Amen Teklay's loved ones. We continue to work with partners to tackle and prevent youth violence and in particular knife crime, backed by our investment of more than £8 million since 2023 in targeted prevention and early intervention activity.'
