Teens plead not guilty to murder
YOUTHS ON TRIAL FOR KILLING OF 16-YEAR-OLD
A TEENAGE boy from West London was “ambushed” by “armed kids on bikes” before he was stabbed to death in the street. Rishmeet Singh, 16, was repeatedly knifed around 9pm on Raleigh Road, Southall, after he tripped to the ground after fleeing his attackers.
Two 17-year-olds who are accused of chasing a student before viciously stabbing him to death have denied his murder.
The teens, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared today (Monday, March 7) via video link, where they only spoke to confirm their names and enter their not guilty pleas.
They are accused of using weapons to inflict fatal wounds upon Rishmeet on November 26, 2021, with the 16-year-old managing to run from his attackers before collapsing.
After attending Uxbridge College, Rishmeet and his friends were reportedly out in the Southall area before they were ambushed by two armed youths on bicycles.
Emergency services were then called at 9.07pm to Raleigh Road after receiving reports of a stabbing amongst a group of young men.
Despite the best efforts of paramedics, he was tragically pronounced dead a short while later, with social media footage circulating that showed police officers desperately performing CPR in a front garden.
The two defendants were charged in December after a number of public appeals from the Metropolitan Police.
Rishmeet was known to work part-time jobs and was a carer for his disabled mother, who the Evening Standard reported, had watched paramedics battle to save her son’s life.
His family, who were in attendance at the Old Bailey today, are also members of the London Sikh community and attended the nearby Gurdwara Guru Nanak, which caters for the Afghan Sikh community.
Rishmeet was the 28th teenager to be killed on London’s streets in 2021, as the city soon surpassed its previous peak of 29 in 2008.
By December 31, London had seen the worst year in teenage homicide on record, with 30 murdered in the capital.
After denying his murder, the two teens now face a trial starting on February 6, 2023.