Sofyen Belamouadden: Youths guilty

The youths charged with the murder of Sofyen have been found guilty this afternoon at the Old Bailey. Sofyen was killed by a gang armed with knives in Victoria Station after a pre-arranged fight on facebook between two gangs, one of whom was from west London.

Sofyen was a pupil at Henry Compton School. The trials' end of course comes as we begin another hunt for a another murderer or murderers after the shooting on Lakeside Road just last week. Much of the local debate that took place on this blog by many local people touched on issues that were no  doubt at least partly in play in this murder too. Why do kids think it's in any way OK to go out and kill each other with guns and knives - and if most of them don't why do so many still do it?

I'll be returning to this issue in the days and weeks ahead - the debate we had locally here was uncomfortable and sometimes depressing. But it's one that is long overdue. So thank-you.