Five on trial over stab murder of 15-year-old outside station

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A 15-year-old boy was killed in a “revenge” attack by a group of youths armed with a knife, an umbrella and a rounders bat, a court has heard.

Tamim Ian Habimana was stabbed in the heart and another 15-year-old boy was injured during the violence in Woolwich, south east London, on July 5 last year.

Five youths, aged between 15 and 20, are on trial at the Old Bailey charged with Tamim’s murder and the attempted murder of the second victim.

Opening the trial on Tuesday, Danny Robinson QC said: “The prosecution case is that these five defendants went to Woolwich on July 5 2021 to carry out a revenge attack for a stabbing committed by (the surviving victim) in Dartford nine days earlier.

“The prosecution case is that they all acted together, and so they are all jointly responsible for what happened that day.”

That afternoon, the five defendants allegedly travelled together to Woolwich Arsenal Station.

A 16-year-old boy had a knife, a 15-year-old had an umbrella and a second 16-year-old had a rounders bat in his rucksack, it is claimed.

Tamim and two other young men walked towards them and stopped a short distance away, jurors were told.

Within seconds, the 15-year-old defendant had removed the metal stem from the middle of the umbrella, and the 16-year-olds produced their weapons, the court heard.

Mr Robinson said: “The attack that the defendants launched on the other group lasted for a matter of seconds, but it was recorded on CCTV from a passing bus, by council CCTV, and it was also filmed by a passenger on the bus.”

Tamim went between two parked cars onto the pavement and seconds later was fatally stabbed by the 16-year-old with the knife, it is alleged.

The victim ran up the road before collapsing by a bus stop, jurors were told.

The second victim was also attacked before an off-duty police officer intervened to stop the fight, with the defendants running off, the court heard.

Another police officer happened to be at scene “by coincidence”, with the attack taking place “right in front of him”.

Mr Robinson said: “Although it happened very quickly, he saw the umbrella stem and the knife being used as weapons during the attack.”

The off-duty officer and members of the public went to help and emergency services were called but Tamim died at the scene.

Officers found the umbrella stem, knife blade and handle discarded nearby.

Later that evening, police were called to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, where the surviving victim was treated for a stab wound to his upper back.

A pathologist found Tamim suffered massive blood loss from the stab wound to the heart.

Daryl Bethel, 20, from Gravesend, Kent, Lewis Bollen, 18, two boys aged 16 and a 15-year-old deny the charges against them and the trial continues.