15 year old Isaac Brown was stabbed to death in New Square, West Bromwich just after 9pm on 7 April.
Isaac, along with two friends, arranged to meet up with Reehan Nezir, aged 18, and a 14-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons, to ‘sort out’ a dispute.
At around 6.30pm that day, a 12-year-old boy was robbed by a group in Smethwick which included the two defendants. The victim was assaulted and his jacket was stolen.
Isaac knew the victim of the robbery through a friend and circulated various messages on social media to find out the identity of the attackers.
The defendants communicated with Isaac and his friend on social media, which escalated tensions between the two groups. Nezir posted: ‘Do you know who I am?’ and ‘I’ll teach you a lesson’.
The two groups then met in West Bromwich. Isaac and his friends were confronted by a group armed with weapons.
Isaac’s group ran away to New Square which is where they were confronted by Nezir and the 14-year-old boy. CCTV footage showed disorder between the teenagers, where weapons were brandished.
Tragically, Isaac was fatally stabbed in the chest.
Nezir, of Edith Road, Smethwick and the 14-year-old boy fled, but were both arrested the following day.
Today, at Manchester Crown Court, Nezir has been jailed for nine years in prison.
The 14-year-old has been sentenced to four years and six months in a young offender’s institute. The two teenagers previously admitted manslaughter, robbery and possession of an offensive weapon at an earlier hearing.
Every local policing area has dedicated schools intervention and prevention officers who work with schools and partners to support young people and offer guidance and advice around keeping safe and diverting away from dangerous or criminal activities.
Officers regularly deliver sessions in schools allowing pupils to explore themes around why people carry a weapon, and the dangers it poses. Police visited Isaac’s former school Wodensborough Ormiston Academy to deliver one of these sessions to a group of pupils aged between 11 and 16 years old.
Chief Superintendent Kim Madill from Sandwell Police and knife crime lead for the force said: “Isaac was just 15 years old and had his future to look forward to it but tragically that was cut short.
“Knife crime is a priority for us at West Midlands Police and we are doing all we can educate young people about the dangers of carrying a knife.
“We are listening to families affected by knife crime and acting on their feedback to see what more we can do with partners to stop the devastation caused by knife crime.
“Our responsibility is to work together with partners to understand why children and young people think it is ok to carry weapons and take further action to stop this extremely dangerous behaviour. Our education work is delivered alongside dedicated policing to tackle serious youth violence by our Guardian Taskforce, which has expanded significantly over the past five years and has been instrumental in helping to see a reduction in knife crime over this period. Supporting information can be found on our Life or Knife website.
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