Jaden Moodie stabbing: Suspects 'should turn themselves in before someone else gets to them'
Sky News speaks to a man Jaden Moodie considered an uncle about the 14-year-old's death in east London.
Tuesday 15 January 2019 14:58, UK
A family friend of a boy stabbed to death in north London has urged the suspects to turn themselves in "before someone else" gets to them.
Josh Grant told Sky News that Jaden Moodie, 14, was a "bubbly little lad" who liked bikes and playing on the computer.
Jaden was killed in Leyton, Waltham Forest in east London, on Tuesday evening in what police have described as a targeted attack.
Detectives said a car knocked the teenager off his moped, then three males got out of the vehicle and stabbed him before getting back in and driving off.
Mr Grant, who lives in Nottingham where Jayden's family used to live, described himself as a kind of uncle to Jaden as their mothers were very close and his stepson is the same age.
He told Sky News: "I used to take him out to amusement parks with my stepson, they grew up together for the past 10 years. He'll be devastated.
"Jaden could tell me anything, if he needed anything he'd call me up. I was definitely someone he could confide in."
He said Jaden was a "good kid who wanted his family to be happy".
Mr Grant found out about his death when his mother phoned him on Tuesday to tell him. He said he stopped his car and cried by himself before going home to support his mother.
"I just wish he was still here, it's hard to think about it," Mr Grant added.
"I'm trying to be strong for everyone in my family and keep it to myself.
"I've had a few moments when I'm in my work unit today, mixing up the paint and just found myself breaking down.
"It could have been a number of things, the bike he was on, I know they're saying there's a lot of gangs down there but Jaden was a good kid, he wanted good things in his life.
"He might have fallen in with the wrong crowd, he was an outspoken kid."
Mr Grant said he does not think knife crime will reduce as the victims are getting "younger and younger".
"I think the next three, four, five years you'll see 10-year-olds getting stabbed," he said.
"They're recruiting younger and younger in gangs down there. When I was growing up it was 16, 17, 18-year-olds but now it's 13 and 14-year-olds."
Police are still searching for the suspects, and a section 60 order has been put in place in the area to allow officers to search anyone for weapons.
Mr Grant said the people who stabbed Jaden are "better turning yourself in...it's better that the police find you rather than someone else".
He added: "Anytime he needed anything he could call me, he knows I was there for him.
"It's just a shame I wasn't there for him in London when he needed me."
:: Anybody with information about Jaden's murder should call 020 8345 3734 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.