Grieving mother’s plea: stop the sale of deadly zombie knives

Louis Johnson was stabbed to death at East Croydon station on the afternoon of January 27
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The mother of a schoolboy killed by a teenage rapper armed with a zombie knife today called for a clampdown on their online sale.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named, stabbed Louis Johnson, 16, who was also known as L-Sav, with a serrated 6in blade as commuters and children made their way home at East Croydon station on January 27.

While in custody, he phoned a friend and performed a rap which included the lines: “Push it in his chest, too bad he wasn’t wearing a vest, I left the crime scene, L-Sav was hurting. Push some metal in his chest like a surgeon. L-Sav was 6ft and now he’s 6ft deep.”

The teenage gangster was convicted of murder at the Old Bailey last month and was being sentenced today.

Louis’s mother, Natalie Secka, 42, said despite zombie knives being banned in 2016 there was evidence people have been able to buy them online if they lie about being over 18.

She told the Standard: “My son found evil that day. If you carry a zombie knife, you go out with the intention to kill. It’s a murder weapon. They are banned in the UK, so I don’t know how people can still buy them online.

“I really hope this case sends out a message to all the young boys. This isn’t a computer game and you will spend significant time, your best years, behind bars. It’s not like Grand Theft Auto where you can press the reset button and everything is okay. This is real life.”

The teenager stabbed Louis once in the chest on an overbridge near the ticket barriers at about 4.30pm. The weapon had been concealed in his trousers. CCTV shows him running out of the station still clutching it.

Peter Glenser, prosecuting, told the court: “Helen Davis, who was travelling through the station, went to assist Louis Johnson moments after he had been attacked. She thinks she was with him when he took his last breath and she is probably right”.

Mrs Secka, who has two other children, said: “What an awful end to Louis’s story… He is not going to have a life. It’s so difficult now when I look at his friends, even in the past nine months they have changed.

“He popped out to go to East Croydon for an appointment and he never came home. I sent Louis a message at 4.47pm on WhatsApp saying ‘Where are you?’ and to this day that message is unread because he was already dead. Even as a parent of a black boy in London, you never think it will happen to you. My other son is 16 and I don’t even want him to leave the house.”

Detective Superintendent Sam Blackburn of British Transport Police said: “I would personally like to thank the brave witnesses who not only helped to save Louis’s life but then showed the courage to come to court and relive the harrowing events of that Monday ­afternoon.”

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