Posted on 03/15/2007 10:47:02 AM PDT by LibWhacker
A boy of 16 was stabbed to death by a gang of teenage boys and girls for his dog, according to police.
The group of attackers were dressed in school uniforms and were shouting "kill him, kill him" as they pursued him.
They are said to have set two of their own dogs on the boy after he was stabbed in the heart and leg.
The victim was walking his Staffordshire bull terrier when he was chased along Hammersmith Grove by the group. Some were said to be as young as 14.
Residents told of their shock at the attack happening in a quiet street where houses sell for £1 million. Police have not named the boy but a friend said he was known as Kodjo.
Hammersmith Grove Murder
The area is known locally as Brackenbury Village and is popular with film stars and broadcasters.
The attack follows the murders of three teenagers and young men who were shot and a fourth who was stabbed in two weeks of gang-related violence in south London last month.
After the stabbing at 5.30pm the gang split up and fled into a network of residential streets. They were pursued at high speed by officers in unmarked police cars who were on the scene in minutes.
Five youths were arrested in what is believed to be a housing association property in Iffley Road. They are being interviewed at separate police stations.
Residents told of a group of boys and girls in school uniforms aged about 14 shouting "let's get him&" before the victim was stabbed in the heart and leg.
The group are said to have set their own dogs on the boy and kicked him as he lay dying. One boy was seen waving a 12-inch knife in the air.
Hammersmith Grove Murder
Sources said the attack in Hammersmith Grove yesterday afternoon is believed to have taken place after an earlier clash between rival gangs.
The victim is not believed to have been present at the first incident but was spotted and identified as being from the rival group.
One woman said: "I saw eight or nine black boys in a very agitated state. One of them was waving a massive knife around. These boys were very hyped up. I recognised one of them as being a well-known local gang member. These kids were all gravitating around the boy with the carving knife.
" These children were much younger than the boy they were chasing. The attackers were all wearing dark blue or black school uniforms. They were really going for this boy even though he was bigger and older than them.
"They were shouting so loudly that they set a car alarm off. There was so much hatred in the way they were attacking him, you could tell it was more serious.
"At one point they surrounded their victim. He managed to free himself from the group and he was backing away from them.
"He was walking backwards facing them because he was obviously scared to turn his back to them. He looked terrified. He was black, aged 16, and had a dog with him."
The victim was named locally as Kodjo. The woman continued: "These boys wanted Kodjo's dog. They had been threatening him and bullying him for weeks. That is what it was about.
"These gang members like to boast about their dogs. They breed them to fight each other and they wanted Kodjo's dog. He wouldn't give it to them.
"He was trying to keep them away from it when they attacked him." One of the dead boy's friends blamed the killing on a turf war between rival gangs in the Shepherd's Bush-White City area.
Winnie Clements, 17, said: "They are trying to make a point - show who is bigger, who is better. It's just stupid. It needs to stop. Everyone is getting fed up.î One witness said the gang involved calls itself MDP - Murder Dem Pussies.
After the stabbing at 5.30pm the group split up and fled. They were pursued at high speed by officers in unmarked police cars who were on the scene in minutes.
Five youths were arrested in what is believed to be a housing association property in Iffley Road. They are being interviewed at separate police stations.
Sources said a knife was found in a garden in the same street. At least two more suspects are being hunted. Police believe the victim and his attackers knew each other.
Staffordshire bull terriers are once again becoming the accessory - and occasionally the weapon - of choice on the urban streets.
Typical new breed of owner: young lad, aged 15-22 and the purpose for having the dog is to gain respect, to intimidate, to use as a form of protection, and sometimes for crime.
“I saw eight or nine black boys in a very agitated state. “
“There was so much hatred in the way they were attacking him,”
The true goals of liberalism have been realized.
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