Stabbed in the back
TEEN TALKS OUT ABOUT BEING ONE OF THE LATEST VICTIMS OF KNIFE CRIME
LONDONERS have become used to reading about stabbings pretty much every day, but it is rare for a victim to come forward and no longer be just another statistic.
A boy stabbed in Hayes on Saturday February 9 has been named as 16-year-old Hamza Ali, and he has spoken to the Gazette about his ordeal.
Police were called at 3.57pm to reports of a fight and found Hamza, who was then flown to hospital in an air ambulance.
His family have stayed by his side and are now with him as he recovers at their Hayes home after the stabbing in Central Avenue.
When we spoke to him on Sunday, Hamza, who had exams this week, was not sure if he could go back to school this week as he was in “severe pain”.
“My back is hurt, I can’t really move, I was stabbed in the back in the lower lung area. They want me in hospital, but I kept saying I wanted to go home,” he said.
“I don’t know if I will go to school.
“I’m in severe pain and I am limping. I have got exams this week and I don’t want to miss out, but I don’t know if I can to be honest.
“When it hit me it was not the pain, I just felt blood dripping out. I couldn’t breathe properly. It felt like I was running out of oxygen and I didn’t know if I would make it.”
The 16-year-old, who says he boxes three times a week, has had to cancel his next fight.
Hamza’s dad said he and his wife are scared.
He said: “I was somewhere else and his friend told me. I went there as fast as I could and by the time I got there they had taken him to hospital.
“I was obviously quite upset, I didn’t know what was going to happen. We don’t expect these kind of things.
“I was so confused and afraid, but luckily he was not that bad.”
He read the news this week that a man died after a stabbing in East Dulwich and is thankful “God gave my son new life”.
He is dismayed, however, by the number of stabbings around London.
“Once you lose your life it does not come back. I don’t know what they are thinking about,” he said.
“My wife and I now have more work to do to keep them safe. We are scared. The family suffers [when someone is stabbed]. It needs to be stopped and the government has to do something.”
Police have arrested four males on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with Hamza’s stabbing.
They are a 15-year-old boy, a 16-year-old boy and two 18-year-old men. All four were taken to West London police stations where they remain in custody.
Anyone who witnessed this incident or has information is asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.