16 Year-Old Boy Guilty of Murdering Ayub Hassan
Shepherd's Bush teen stabbed in North End Road during row over drug dealing
Ayub Hassan
A 16 year-old boy has been found guilty of murdering Ayub Hassan in Lanfrey Place, behind the Waitrose supermarket in North End Road on 7 March this year.
The killer, who was 15 at the time and cannot be named for legal reasons, stabbed 17 year-old Ayub in a row over county lines drug dealing and made off on a rental bike.
During his trial he claimed he acted in self-defence but was found guilty by a majority of 11 to one.
Police were called to the scene around 2.14pm on 7 March. Ayub was found with stab injuries to the chest and taken to a central London hospital, but he sadly died a short time later.
After his death, his mother Siraad told the Evening Standard
that Ayub, the oldest of her three children, had wanted to be a barrister and that he was her ‘best friend'.
The killing of Shepherd's Bush resident Ayub, known to his friends as A1, took place in front of a group of young people and was caught on graphic CCTV footage shown during the trial at the Old Bailey.
Prosecutor Anthony Orchard QC told jurors none of those present had helped police in their investigation, or offered any explanation for what had happened.
One of them was even pictured throwing the alleged murder weapon - a folding lock knife - into a nearby drain, where it was later recovered by police.
The defendant told jurors he feared he was about to be stabbed by Ayub, who was a member of the 12 World gang, for refusing to deal Class A drugs across county lines for him.
Giving evidence, the boy said he had made a 'positive decision' to stop selling Class A drugs following a previous conviction, although he admitted breaching a community behaviour order.
He will be sentenced at a later date.
Lanfrey Place. Picture: Google Streetview
September 12, 2019