UK’s ‘youngest gun killer’, 14, sentenced to life for murder of schoolboy Keon Lincoln
A judge has ruled that a 14-year-old convicted of shooting schoolboy Keon Lincoln can be now identified.
The decision comes as the teenager and four other youths convicted of killing the 15-year-old await their sentences.
The judge at Birmingham Crown Court lifted reporting restrictions and Yussuf Mustapha can now be named as the boy who shot Keon.
Michael Ugochukwu and Tahjgeem Breaken-Ridge were both 17 and with two others, aged 14 & 15, when Keon Lincoln was stabbed and shot outside his home in Handsworth on 21 January. Pics: Police
A 16-year-old youth from Walsall and Tahjgeem Breakenridge, 18, along with Michael Ugochukwu, 18, were also found guilty earlier this month.
A fifth defendant, Kieron Donaldson, 18, was found guilty of the manslaughter of Keon, who was shot and stabbed in a gun and knife attack near his home in Handsworth in January 2021.
He died two hours later at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
During the five-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court, the jury was told that Keon was stabbed eight times but the fatal injury was to his abdomen from one of two gunshots fired during the attack at 3.35pm on 21 January.
Mustapha was born in Italy and was said to be doing well at the same secondary school as Keon.
CCTV showing Michael Ugochukwu armed with a blade at the scene. Pic: West Midlands Police
Lifting a previous court order, Lord Justice William Davis said the reporting restriction had represented a “substantial restriction” on the press’s ability to report on the case
The trial heard that Breakenridge, Ugochukwu, and the 16-year-old were seen on CCTV holding long knives, and that Donaldson, of Aston Lane, Perry Barr, was alleged to have “helped and supplied weapons” for the attack.
Keon’s mother, Sharmaine Lincoln, said: “I’m in a nightmare that I cannot wake up from. My heart is broken beyond repair. A piece of my soul has been taken from me.
“I see my baby boy’s face as he lay slumped on the ground struggling to breathe.
“I hear the words ‘his heart has stopped’. I miss my boy so much that it physically hurts.
“I would not wish this suffering on anyone and I can only hope that a day will come when the senseless murdering of children, will come to an end.”
Jess Phillips has said “nothing is off the table” when dealing with the grooming gangs scandal – including a new national inquiry if victims want one.
The safeguarding minister told Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast that she would listen to victims on a new panel that was announced by the government this week.
“Nothing is off the table,” she said.
“And if the victims come forward to me in this victims panel and they say, ‘actually, we think there needs to be a national inquiry into this’, I’ll listen to them.”
Politics latest: Tories told to ‘put up or shut up’
Her comments come days after it emerged she had rejected calls from Oldham Council to hold a government inquiry into grooming gangs in the town, and said the council should commission one instead.
That has led to tech billionaire Elon Musk attacking her and Sir Keir Starmer for not holding a national inquiry and accusing the prime minister of being “complicit” in the abuse.
Professor Alexis Jay finished an eight-year national inquiry into child sexual abuse in 2022 and set out recommendations for the government.
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The Conservatives tabled an amendment to the Children’s Safeguarding and Schools Bill on Wednesday to require a statutory inquiry into grooming gangs.
However, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told Sky News the Tories “don’t care about children” as the amendment could prevent the entire bill from going forward.
She said: “The measures that I’m setting out today and the legislation in many ways go further because it puts a requirement on all councils to have teams working to keep children safe.
“And the bandwagon jumpers that have come along in recent days, they don’t care about children, they don’t care about making sure that we stop this and we take action.
“They had years to do it and they didn’t do it.”
The Conservatives also rejected a call from Oldham Council for a government inquiry in 2022.
You can listen to Beth’s full interview with Jess Phillips in a special episode of Electoral Dysfunction released on Thursday.
The 14-year-old who was stabbed to death on a bus in southeast London yesterday has been named as Kelyan Bokassa.
He was stabbed to death on a bus in Woolwich Church Street, close to the Woolwich Ferry, just before 2.30pm on Tuesday.
The teenager died at the scene shortly after medical help arrived.
The Metropolitan Police called the stabbing a “horrific attack,” while London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said the “heart-breaking violence has absolutely no place in our city”.
No arrests have been made so far but officers are appealing for witnesses who were on the 472 bus.
Tributes were left to the teenager, who was a student at St Columba’s Catholic Boys School. Pic: PA
An aspiring rapper, 14-year-old Kelyan was also “briefly” a student at St Columba’s Catholic Boys School in Bexleyheath.
The South East London Catholic Academy Trust said in a statement it was “saddened by the loss of life” and added: “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this difficult time.
“Our schools will provide support to any of the students who may be affected by this senseless violence.”
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Mary Bokassa, the boy’s mother, also told MailOnline that he and others “were taken advantage by gangs” and “were groomed”.
She told the outlet: “He was missing for a year and was living on the street. He finally turned up at my doorstep, he was sick, underweight and tattooed.
“He was exposed to drugs. He probably experienced something because I could sense it. He was not himself. If I questioned him, he wouldn’t tell me anything about his friends.”
Detective Chief Inspector Martin Thorpe, who is leading the investigation, said: “Following Kelyan’s tragic death yesterday, specialist officers are now leading the investigation which is progressing at pace.
“If anyone saw this horrific attack or was in the area then I urge them to come forward and speak to officers.
“We’re particularly interested in any mobile phone footage that captured this incident or any dash cam or doorbell footage from around the surrounding area at the time of this incident.”
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