Training | 2009.05.23
London teenager stabbed to death
Thirteen-year-old arrested as a talented teenager who had been given a trial at a major Championship club becomes the latest casualty of London\'s knife attacks
The grainy images show a teenager dreaming of life as a professional footballer. Posted a year ago on YouTube, the footage shows the ball-playing repertoire of Jahmal Mason-Blair, whose hopes of stardom ended yesterday on a bloodied pavement in inner-city London.
Shortly after midnight, the 17-year-old was stabbed in the neck following a scuffle in Hackney. Last night Scotland Yard said a 13-year-old boy had been arrested in connection with his murder.
Jahmal, who had been identified by scouts at Tottenham Hotspur as a possible Premiership star and who recently had trials with Reading football club, was the ninth teenager to be murdered in the capital this year.
Paramedics fought to save his life after police officers found him bleeding on the busy Amhurst Road in the early hours of Saturday morning, but he died at the scene. Residents reported seeing a group of 20 teenagers shouting in the street shortly before the murder, with one describing a smaller boy - possibly Jahmal - embroiled in a fight.
The football-mad Spurs fan had recently been euphoric after being invited to train at the club\'s development centre for young players after scouts identified him as a genuine talent.
According to the Tottenham Hotspur website, trials at the centre act as a "pathway to professional football". Jahmal hoped to emulate Spurs defender Ledley King, who rose through the team\'s youth academy to become club captain and represent England.
Yesterday, Jahmal\'s friend Eddie Munnelly, from Tottenham\'s development centre, said that his slight frame had recently started to fill out, allowing him the chance to compete physically with his peers. "He was a good player, but always struggled with his size and only really shot up recently," said Munnelly.
He also disclosed that the teenager had recently been invited for trials at Reading, which has one of the most respected youth academies in Britain. Friends of Jahmal said it was rare to catch him without a ball at his feet. Connie Drew described him as "a great kid" and said that he stood out as one of the few teenagers who had succeeded in finding an ambition.
"That\'s the worst thing: he had a goal in his life and he was pursuing it and he wanted to make something of himself," she said. "He was a lovely young boy and never got into any arguments."
Within 12 hours of the murder, more than 100 people had joined a Facebook group dedicated to the teenager. Many praised his "raw talent", while others lamented they had seen him recently in his "lil Tottenham kit". The group\'s creator wrote: "Jahmal was a great son, great brother & a great friend & he will be dearly missed. Knowing that we\'re not going to see u play football, Or see that smile again. It will truly hurt us. Rest In Paradise Jamzy".
Friend Shana Glover wrote: "I can\'t believe what happened, u was here 12 hours ago! Will always remember you, as the sweet an innocent one."
Others revealed how, since he was a boy, Jahmal had devoted his spare time to practising the sport he hoped would become his career and had joined Hackney free and parochial school, a specialist sports college, to help develop his talent.
Jahmal\'s half-brother, Shaun Mason, 30, said he had been woken in the early hours and told that something had happened to his brother. He said: "He was meant to be coming to stay with his cousin last night but he never made it."
Jahmal\'s father, Wesley Blair, collapsed when he heard of his son\'s death and was taken to hospital. Mr Mason said their mother, Tetela Rafeal, lived in Florida and was making plans to fly back to the UK.
The YouTube video shows the balance, touch and skill that caught the eye of football scouts. Ostensibly, the clip shows a competition against an apparently older player to prove who was the most skilful. The simple message at the bottom of the footage says: "I won."
Forensic science officers sealed off nearby streets in the search for clues. Acting Detective Chief Inspector Phil Rickells, who is leading the murder inquiry, appealed for witnesses who had been on Amhurst Road at the time. A postmortem examination is expected today, and is likely to identify the type of weapon that punctured Jahmal\'s neck.
A month ago the half-brother of Spurs striker Jermain Defoe died in an attack in east London and two weeks ago, a teenager who stabbed a promising 19-year-old footballer to death in a nightclub was jailed for a minimum of 14 years.
A grim year for London
7 May: Adam Pervaiz, 18. Found stabbed to death in a stairwell in Deptford, south-east London.
27 April: Oluwaseyi Christopher Sunday Ogunyemi, 16. Stabbed and killed in a park in Lambeth, south London.
14 March: Abdulkarim Boudiaf, 18. Shot in Broadwater Road, Tottenham.
13 March: Wahab Zaaki, 18. Stabbed to death in Walthamstow, east London.
22 February: Shannen Vickers, 17. Died in an arson attack at her home in Bethnal Green, east London.
19 February: Hassan Kul Hawadleh, 19. Stabbed to death at a service station in Wealdstone, north-west London. Michael Simon Wright, 17. Stabbed to death in Stratford, east London.
24 January: Stephen Lewis, 15. Stabbed to death in Plaistow, east London.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/may/23/london-hackney-teenager-stabbing
