|
Two teenagers,
including 19-year-old student Hassan Kul Hawadleh, were stabbed to death
just hours apart in London.
By Richard Edwards, Crime Correspondent
London, UK, February 20, 2009 – Hassan Kul Hawadleh, was killed on a
petrol station forecourt after being set upon by a group of five youths
in Wealdstone, north London.
In a separate incident, three hours later, an 18-year-old man who has
not been named, was fatally stabbed outside Maryland railway station in
a suspected gang attack in east London.
They are the second and third teenagers to die violently in the capital
so far this year. Police and politicians tentively claimed to be making
inroads into the youth murder problem, which saw 28 teenagers killed in
2008, after seeing a reduction in the rate on the previous year.
Intrusive stop-and-search powers are being used, alongside knife arches
and search wands to detect weapons. The measures have resulted in 7,960
arrests and the recovery of 4,439 knives since being launched last
Spring.
"This is the news we have been dreading," said one Scotland Yard source.
"We have made great strides but every death is one too many."
Somali teenager Hassan had stopped to fill up his car with petrol at the
Total service station when he and a friend were set upon.
Friends of the pair claimed today that they were the latest victims of a
simmering feud between groups of Somali and Afghan youths in the area.
Mr Hawadleh, of Colindale, was described by friends today as "gentle"
and a "hard-working" student who may have been targeted simply because
he was Somali.
Speaking today his family home in Colindale, north London, Hassan's
sister, Ubed, said: "We have a real problem in society today - stabbing
has just become the norm - it has replaced fist fighting. People's lives
are no longer valued.
"He wasn't the sort of boy to hang out in gangs, he was a sensible
character.
"Hassan knew and was loved by lots of people. He was a young, innocent
child just getting started on his life. I don't know why he was killed,
I just don't know what to say about it."
The brother of the teenager killed at Maryland station, who still has
not been named, has spoken of his shock.
He fought back tears and said: "I have no idea why happened or why he
was stabbed - no one was after him.
"He was a very popular, nice lad and we were tight. We were all friends.
"I'm proud of my brother and I am just gutted."
Source: Telegraph, Feb 20, 2009
|
