Teens who fist-bumped after killing A-grade student in Rambo knife attack jailed

Two teenagers who killed an A-grade student in a Rambo knife attack when he was out buying milk have been jailed.

William Haines, 18, stabbed Yusuf Mohamed, also 18, in the heart outside a shop in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, in June last year.

Mr Mohamed, described as a “gentle soul,” sought refuge in the store where he was followed by Haines’ 17-year-old friend.

The Old Bailey heard how the younger defendant stabbed him in the leg as he cowered on the shop floor.

CCTV later captured the attackers smiling as they gave each other a congratulatory fist bump.

Haines, who refused to attend court, was found guilty of murder and possessing a blade.

He was sentenced in his absence to life with a minimum of 17 years.

His 17-year-old accomplice was handed 10 years in custody having been cleared of murder but admitted manslaughter and possessing a knife.

Haines, from Acton in west London, was previously convicted twice for having blades in public in 2019 and had been on bail at the time of the attack.

The victim’s sister, Ayan Mohamed, described her brother as a “gentle soul” who was kind and quiet.

The student had been awaiting his A-level results and was hoping to study engineering at university when his life was “snatched away so brutally”, she said in a victim impact statement.

During sentencing, Judge Angela Rafferty QC described how Mr Mohamed was attacked “without warning or provocation”.

She said Haines took out a large knife and stabbed Mr Mohamed in the heart 20cm deep.

Judge Rafferty told the 17-year-old sitting in the dock: “As he lay on the ground you used a large knife and lunged at him repeatedly in his leg.

“Those moments for Yusuf Mohamed must have been filled with horror, terror and confusion.

“You accepted that Yusuf would have been very, very afraid at the time you started attacking him with a knife.”

The judge added that Haines gave no explanation of the motive behind the attack, only saying he “acted in anger and saw red”.

The younger defendant had said he followed him because of “peer pressure”.

Sarah Dale, from the Crown Prosecution Service, described the attack as “devastating and cowardly”.

She continued: “On what should have been a routine walk to the nearby shop for some milk, Yusuf was set upon for no apparent reason.

“Armed with knives and in the violent way that these defendants attacked him, there could be no doubt as to their deadly intentions. After they fatally stabbed Yusuf, they fist-bumped in callous celebration.

“Nothing can take away the pain that Yusuf’s family and friends must be feeling, but we hope these convictions provide them with some level of comfort at this distressing time.”

(c) Sky News 2020: Teens who fist-bumped after killing A-grade student in Rambo knife attack jailed