Two 15-year-old gang members have been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 19-year-old university student Hussein Ahmed in a revenge attack in Harrow, west London. The boys, both aged 14 at the time, stabbed Ahmed once in the back with a 'Rambo-style knife' outside South Harrow tube station on 18 November 2016. He died in hospital three days later.
The pair, along with two other teenagers, took a minicab from their home turf in Hendon to Harrow, seeking retribution against rival gang members. During the eight-minute rampage, they also stabbed a 17-year-old in the arm and stomach, and slashed the sleeve of another youth's jacket. After the attack, they returned to the waiting minicab, telling the driver, 'Drive, boss.' The driver described them as 'happy' as they left.
At the Old Bailey, the judge, Anthony Leonard QC, described the use of disposable surgical gloves as 'chilling evidence' of planning. He told the boys, 'The way you behaved that night showed a total disregard for human life.' The boy who wielded the knife must serve at least 16 years, while the other must serve at least 14 years before being considered for parole.
The court heard both boys were known members of the Grahame Park estate gang and had previous convictions. One had kicked a young girl in the back, and the other had stolen a mobile phone from a schoolboy. After the attack, one of the boys visited the victim in hospital and sent a letter saying, 'I had to do it. We did it. It wasn't your fault.'
Hussein Ahmed's father, Catteyeh Ahmed, described seeing his son 'fighting for his life' in hospital. He said, 'We never expected something like this could happen. Hussein was only 19 years old – a young age to have your life taken from you. We hope no family has to go through what we went through.'
