Man fatally stabbed during knife awareness course in Uxbridge
Police believe the attacker and victim knew each other - a third person in his teens was stabbed trying to break up the fight.
Saturday 9 November 2019 14:33, UK
An 18-year-old man stabbed to death during a knife awareness course run by a council has been named.
Hakim Sillah was killed in a fight at Hillingdon Civic Centre in High Street, Uxbridge, west London, on Thursday afternoon.
Police believe the attacker and the victim knew each other.
A third person, in his teens, suffered a non-life-threatening stab wound while trying to break up the fight and has been praised by police for his bravery.
The victim's mother had dropped her son off at the knife awareness session 50 minutes before the deadly attack.
Officers were called to reports of a stabbing at a youth offending service in the centre shortly before 4.40pm where the teenage victim was found with a critical stab injury.
He was taken to a west London hospital, where he died shortly before 5.30pm.
A 17-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of murder has now been charged and will appear before Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on Saturday.
The Metropolitan Police said a group of young people were attending a by-appointment event at the youth offending service when a "very quick altercation" broke out between two individuals.
Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh, leading the murder investigation for the Metropolitan Police, said Mr Sillah's family had been left "absolutely broken" by their loss.
DCI McHugh said: "This is an absolute tragedy. A young man with his whole life ahead of him has been fatally attacked and his family are absolutely devastated.
"We are doing everything we can to find those involved. What we know so far is that a fight broke out between males at the location and as a result this young man received fatal injuries. A second independent male bravely tried to intervene to break up the fight and as a result was also stabbed.
"We want to hear from anyone who was there so we can understand what happened prior to the murder taking place and events immediately afterwards. One male is currently in custody and is being interviewed."
Asked if people had been screened for weapons before entering the civic centre, Hillingdon Council said in a statement: "The matter is being investigated by the police and we are unable to comment further at this time.
"Our thoughts are with the victim's family."
DCI McHugh appealed for anyone who may have captured footage of the incident or had information on events before and after it to share it with the police.
"We've made an arrest and we are not looking for anyone else at this time but equally we need witnesses to come forward or people who hold information," Mr McHugh added.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose constituency is Uxbridge, tweeted: "Very sad news from Uxbridge last night. My thoughts are with the victims' friends & family."
DCI McHugh has appealed to people who may have captured footage of the incident to share it with the police.
Anyone who witnessed it or has information is asked to call police on 020 8785 8099, tweet @MetCC or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.