Elephant and Castle stabbing: Family of murdered teenager Mohammed Dura-Ray says 'he would have been safer in native Sierra Leone'

Stabbed to death: Victim Mohammed Kwenga, 16. Formally identified as Mohammed Dua-Ray by MPS
Rachel Blundy16 September 2015
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The family of a teenager stabbed to death in a mob attack near his home in south London has said he would have been safer in his native Sierra Leone.

Mohammed Dura-Ray, 16, also known as Moe, was knifed during a "large disturbance" on an estate in Elephant and Castle last night.

He was the tenth teenager to die as a result of a knife attack in the capital this year.

Today his mother Mariam Karama spoke of her devastation at his death, saying it could have been avoided.

She said she and her family had fled war-torn Sierra Leone for a better life.

She told the Daily Mail: "He was a good boy, he was calm. Nobody would tell you that Moe had fights. He didn’t talk much – he just smiled. I don’t know why he could be a target."

His aunt went on to tell the newspaper: "‘People who are found with knives here do not get a bad punishment and children have no discipline.

‘If you are carrying a knife then you have an intention and the only intention you can have is to kill.

"In this country your children have too much liberty and our kids are being killed like chickens."

She continued: "There’s no knife crime back home. We have a saying in our country: it takes one person to have a child, it takes a whole village to bring up a child."

A post mortem examination today confirmed Mohammed died from a stab wound to the chest.

Up to 30 people were seen fighting next to a children's playground on the Aylesbury estate before Moe was fatally injured.

Seven youths were arrested in connection with the attack, including two 16-year-old boys held on suspicion of murder. They were being questioned by detectives today.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives on 020 8721 4805 or ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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