Birmingham Murder Victim was ‘Aggressive’ to Masked Strangers

The friend of a teenager who was stabbed in the heart in Birmingham city centre told a court they had been “aggressive” to two masked boys who approached them as they sat on a bench.

Muhammad Hassam Ali, known as Ali, died of his injuries in the hospital hours after he and his friend were allegedly followed by the two strangers.

At Coventry Crown Court, two 15-year-old boys denied murder and possession of a bladed article.

On January 20, 2024, the two youths, both with their hoods up and Covid-style blue masks on, approached Ali and his friend “out of nowhere” in Victoria Square.

They started asking them if they knew who had “jumped a mate” of theirs a week before, and where they came from.

After a conversation lasting about four minutes, Ali allegedly said:

“Bro, I don’t know what you’re talking about, you’re p****** me off.”

This prompted one of the youths to pull out a large knife and stab him in the chest before they both fled.

In recorded police interviews, the friend said he thought the youths were just trying to “scare” them when one of them produced a knife.

Michael Ivers KC, defending the youth accused of inflicting the fatal wound, asked Ali’s friend if they had been “aggressive” with them to try to get them to leave them alone.

He said: “Sometimes, to avoid a fight you have to look like you want a fight.

“I’m prepared to accept straight away that neither [you or Ali] would have ever done anything, but sometimes you have to big yourself up to get them to go away don’t you?

“The words that were being said, I’m not saying anyone was screaming and shouting, but it wasn’t like ‘would you mind awfully popping off’, it was more like ‘f*** off, get out of here’, wasn’t it?”

The friend said that was correct, but said he could not remember if either he or Ali had hurled personal insults at the two youths before the knife was produced.

Prosecution barrister Mark Heywood KC said: “You said you spoke to these men and you said things to encourage them to go away and get out of your space.

“You said that included language like ‘f*** off’ and language like they were ‘p****** you off’. How loudly were you saying those things?”

The friend replied that it was in a “normal way”.

When asked if he had heard Ali using that type of language towards the youths, he said yes.

Mr Heywood asked: “Did you make any movements towards either of the two men that was intended to make them go away?”

The friend replied:

“I stood up once to tell them to f*** off or go away but I can’t remember fully.”

He could not remember if Ali had made any movements towards the youths.

CCTV footage showed the moment Ali was stabbed and him staggering down the steps in Victoria Square where he was helped by members of the public.

Jurors were also shown CCTV of the moment Ali and his friend and the two youths walked past each other in Grand Central Shopping Centre.

Afterwards, the youths seemed to pause and speak to each other before turning around and following them as the pair made their way through New Street towards Victoria Square.

The trial continues.