The mother of a 15-year-old boy murdered by two teenagers in a ‘gang-related’ knife attack outside his school told a court today: ‘This violence has to stop.’
In a heart-rending statement read to Leeds Crown Court, Charlie McLean said she would never get over the senseless killing of her son Khayri by two ‘cowards.’
She said: ‘I would gladly give my life for him, to have him back, but that’s impossible.
‘I ask myself what has this achieved? What has my son died for? I have lost my child and other parents have lost their two children who did this.
‘Nobody has won. This violence has to stop and carrying weapons has to stop.’
In a heart-rending statement read to Leeds Crown Court, Charlie McLean (pictured) said she would never get over the senseless killing of her son Khayri by two ‘cowards’
Khayri Mclean, 15, was murdered by two teenagers in a ‘gang-related’ knife attack outside his school
Ms McLean described how she rushed to the scene and watched helplessly as paramedics tried in vain to save her son’s life.
‘The fear he would have had when he realised he had been stabbed and was bleeding to death will stay with me forever,’ she said.
Two cousins, aged 15 and 16 at the time, will be given a life sentence for murder later today.
In a carefully planned ambush in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, last September, the teenagers went armed with large knives, dressed in black and wearing balaclavas.
They pounced on the teenager, with one shouting ‘yo Khayri’ as he walked home from school with friends.
The 15-year-old attacker, who admitted murder, was seen by witnesses to jump in the air before ‘swinging his arm’ and plunging a knife with a 12-inch blade into Khayri’s chest.
The attacker, who admitted being part of a rival gang, was said to be under the influence of a drugs at the time. The fatal blow pierced his victim’s heart and proved fatal.
Moments later the older attacker – now aged 17 – followed up by stabbing Khayri in the leg as he tried to also target his chest.
Ms McLean described how she rushed to the scene and watched helplessly as paramedics tried in vain to save her son’s life
In a carefully planned ambush in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, last September, the teenagers went armed with large knives, dressed in black and wearing balaclavas
The murder was caught on CCTV, which was played to the court today.
Khayri staggered back towards the school before collapsing. A passing doctor helped treat him before an air ambulance arrived, but he died a short time later.
Both teenagers ran off, changed clothes and hid clothing and weapons in nearby woods, where they were later collected by associates.
Jonathan Sandiford, KC, prosecuting, said the younger attacker admitted being part of the ‘F Block’ or ‘Fartown’ gang in Huddersfield that were involved in drug-dealing and violence in the town.
He said Khayri was targeted because he shared a video on social media about the window of the older attacker’s family home being broken.
Khayri was seen as ‘the enemy’ from an ‘opposition’ gang, although a jury heard earlier a claim that he had left the gang.
Mr Sandiford told the court the motive was ‘revenge’ over the window incident.
Huddersfield has been plagued by youth gang violence in recent years and the court heard how the rap artist Booter Bee was known to rap about the F Block gang’s ‘criminal exploits.’
The younger victim, who was himself the innocent victim of a gang shooting at the age of 12, started dealing in drugs for the gang at the age of 13, the court heard.
‘Violence against opposing gang members and carrying a knife was the norm for [the boy of 15] and this is the life he lived,’ said Mr Sandiford.
He said the lifestyle meant he would ‘assert authority and power’ against rival gang members.
Mr Sandiford said the attack was ‘not spontaneous’ but ‘carefully planned.’
A month after the murder police covertly recorded the younger killer talking to his parents at a young offender’s institution. They discussed the need for him to ‘act remorseful’ and he said ‘I knew he was dead as soon as I did it.’
Richard Wright, KC, for the younger killer, said it was tragic that this ‘child’ would ‘take knives out and engage in extreme violence’ in the pursuit of gang-related ‘grudges.’
The older attacker denied murder but was convicted by a jury last month.
He was given life with a minimum term of 18 years and the younger attacker received a 16 year minimum.
The court heard he denied being a gang member, a claim disputed by the Crown.
His barrister Mohammed Nawaz, KC, said he had ‘shown genuine and real remorse for this event.’
The case continues.
