Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Knife terror in suburbia
Gifted pupil Yousef, 17, murdered.. 10th young victim so far There are not enough police now and the gangs know it
lad with so much potential to have his life taken so young.”
A resident of Hale Barns – an area of expensive homes where Coronation Street actors and Man United stars Paul Pogba and Victor Lindelof are said to live – said he knew nothing of the tragedy at around 6.30pm on Saturday until he left his house to go to dinner and saw the emergency services.
He said: “The boy was leaning against a tree outside. I didn’t know him. How many lives has it ruined? Just one moment of madness.
“Lots of the houses here have CCTV. There have been break-ins so people will have been on the lookout but this is not what you expect.”
Tributes yesterday poured in for Yousef, who attended Manchester Grammar School. Tanya Daly wrote: “R.I.P Yousef Makki what a lovely young man from a loving family. My love and thoughts go out to them.”
Alisia Wilson added: “Just goes to show knife crime can happen anywhere.” Farzaneh Yari posted: “I am really shocked. We live in Hale Barns and this is rare.” Greater Manchester Police’s detective superintendent Phil Reade said: “This is an incredibly tragic case which has seen a teenage boy sadly lose his life.
“Yousef ’s family has understandably been left devastated by his death and the thoughts of the investigation team remain with them at this difficult time.
“The investigation is in its very early stages and we remain openminded about why Yousef was attacked.
“We would like to speak to anyone who may have information that can assist.”
Yousef lived with his family, who are believed to be originally from Beirut in Lebanon.
Last night, forensic tents stood at the scene as officers combed the surrounding area. Two mountain bikes were seized for examination.
Of the 10 teenagers stabbed to death in Britain so far this year, five were killed in London, three in Birmingham, one in Sunderland and Yousef in Manchester. One victim in the capital, Jaden Moodie, was just 14.
A gofundme page has been set up to help Yousef’s parents pay for his funeral.
It said: “Our friend was murdered and to help his family we are raising money to contribute to his funeral and give him a send off he deserves as he will be missed by many people and left us too early.” KNIFE crime has spread to every corner of Britain, an expert warns.
Danny O’brien, who founded Anti-knife UK, claims a decade of government inaction has let the senseless killing go unchecked.
He said: “There are not enough police out there now and the gangs know this. It’s a big scar from one end of the country to the other. A lot of it is gang-related and there seem to be turf wars going on, but it’s not all gang-related and it’s not all in cities. It is moving out of cities and into the suburbs.”
The warning comes after two 17-year-old’s lives were cut brutally short in knife attacks over the weekend, while another teenager and a 37-year-old man were fighting for their lives in hospital. Statistics show knife crime hit a record high last year with 39,332 knife offences in 2018, up 12% from the year before.
Danny has been tracking knife crime for 11 years but claims politicians have paid little more than “lip service” to the problem and time is running out to get through to young people.
He said: “We need the Prime Minister to get tough and MPS from every party to be in their areas to say enough is enough.”
Barry Mizen, whose son Jimmy died in 2008, said: “Our son was killed 10-and-a-half years ago and things have got worse, not better.”
Among the deaths this year was Jaden Moodie, 14, rammed off his moped and stabbed to death in East London. Also in January, Nedim Bilgin, 17, was knifed in the chest in a clash with teenagers in the north of the city.
Domino’s delivery driver Lejean Richards, 19, was stabbed to death in Battersea, South West London.
Police in Birmingham have been granted stop-and-search powers after three fatal stabbings in a fortnight. Sidali Mohamed, 16, was attacked in Highgate on February 13; Abdullah Muhammad, 16, was killed in Small Heath on February 20; and 18-year-old Hazrat Umar in Bordesley Green on February 25.