Teens who celebrated stabbing to death 18-year-old in Shepherd’s Bush are jailed

Two teenagers who celebrated stabbing another teen to death with a fist bump have been jailed.

William Haines, 18, from Acton, (pictured above right) and a 17-year-old from Brentford, who cannot be named for legal reasons, launched an unprovoked and seemingly motiveless attack on 18-year-old Yusuf Mohamed (above left) who was on his way to the shops to buy some milk on the evening of June 26 last year in Shepherd’s Bush.

Haines was found guilty of murder and having an article with a blade or a point and has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 17 years.

The 17-year-old was found guilty of manslaughter and admitted having an article with a blade or a point and was jailed for 10 years.

The judge also ordered the destruction of the knives used in the attack.

Haines and the 17-year-old spotted Yusuf, who was with three friends, across the road as they were walking along Uxbridge Road in the opposite direction.

The pair ran across the road before Haines drew a knife from his waistband and stabbed Yusuf in his heart.

The 17-year-old then stabbed Yusuf in the thigh as he tried to escape inside the Intercontinental Foods shop.

Yusuf’s three friends ran from the attackers, but when one realised Yusuf was no longer with him, he returned.

He found Yusuf at the back of the shop, bleeding heavily and struggling to breathe.

He applied pressure to Yusuf’s wounds until the ambulance arrived.

Yusuf was pronounced dead around 45 minutes after he was stabbed.

The defendants ran away and threw their knives into nearby bushes, the knife used by the 17-year-old was later found by police in his abandoned rucksack.

The knife used by Haines was spotted four days later by a dog walker whose dog found the knife inside a sheath.

Haines and the 17-year-old were identified by CCTV evidence and DNA that linked them to the murder weapons.

Once arrested, Haines claimed he did not know his co-defendant. But phone evidence showed frequent contact between the two.

Sarah Dale, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “This devastating, cowardly and unprovoked attack has led to the death of an innocent 18-year-old who had so much to look forward to in life.

“On what should have been a routine walk to the nearby shop for some milk, Yusuf was set upon for no apparent reason.

“Armed with knives and in the violent way that these defendants attacked him, there could be no doubt as to their deadly intentions. After they fatally stabbed Yusuf, they fist-bumped in callous celebration.

“Nothing can take away the pain that Yusuf’s family and friends must be feeling, but we hope these convictions provide them with some level of comfort at this distressing time.”