"Why him?" - Heartbroken families call for end to brutal teenage knife killings
It follows the sentencing of six people in connection with the murders of 17-year-old's Harley Brown and Trust Gangata in West Yorkshire
Heartbroken families, campaigners and judges are among those calling for an end to West Yorkshire's knife epidemic, as six killers begin their sentences for the murders of two teenagers.
17-year-old Harley Brown, who moved from London to Huddersfield for a "safer life", was cut down by two teenagers in February.
The boys, aged 15 and 17, have been sentenced to life for murder, with a combined minimum of more than 20 years in jail.
Just weeks after Harley's death, Trust Gangata was stabbed 15 times by masked men at a house party, in a botched revenge attack.
They attacked Trust, after one of the men, Harley Belinga, was involved in a fight at the party with another man.
He then called three friends, Paul Mbwasse, Karlson Ogie and Brandon Paradzai, who donned balaclavas and stabbed Trust, in a case of mistaken identity.
Belinga, now aged 20, of Brendon Walk, Bradford, Mbwasse, aged 19, of Walpole Road, Huddersfield, and Ogie, aged19, of Bierley House Avenue, Bradford, were each given a minimum term of 23 years.
Paradzai, aged 20, of Coleshill Way, Bradford, was given a determinate sentence of 16 years imprisonment.
Family leads desperate pleas for end to knife crime
Trust's sister Emma, his mother Anna, and his father Trust Gangata Sr. are among those today calling for an end to violence in West Yorkshire, following a series of high profile killings.
Taking a strong stand following the sentencing of her brother's killers, Emma issued a warning to youngsters: "Put the knives down.
"It's not cool, there's nothing to be glorified about it, it doesn't make you a big man or a big woman or anything like that."
Paying a heart-breaking tribute to her brother, Emma added: "Trust was an amazing person to be around, he was a ball of sunshine.
"How can this be? This is just such a horrible thing to happen to a person who had some much amazing potential."
In a statement released by the family, Trust's mother continued the pleas for an end to knife crime in West Yorkshire: "“These young men who stand here having been convicted of my son’s murder.
"Knives ended his life and you have caused total devastation to ours. You write or listen to music that glorifies gang culture and the using of knives and violence in its lyrics.
"Look what you have done, look who you have taken from the world.
"We are left with only memories of our beloved son, brother and friend.
"The court has imposed these sentences, but they are nothing compared to our sentence, which is a lifetime without TJ.”
Judge warns of teenagers of the dangers of carrying knives, as two sentenced to life in prison
There are warnings too from judges, with a justice calling on teenagers to stop carrying weapons, following the murder of Harley Brown in Huddersfield.
Harley was killed in a "sustained and brutal" knife attack after encountering two other teenagers he knew outside a shop in February.
The court heard he had moved to Huddersfield from Deptford, London, in 2020 for a "safe" new life after his mother became concerned he was being groomed.
CCTV shows Harley running away and the two defendants following him, with the 17-year-old pulling a large knife from his trousers.
Prosecutors said the attack was "highly suggestive of having a motive of gang-related rivalry", but the judge said no evidence of this had been found.
The court heard the pair chased Harley onto a nearby street, where he could be seen going to the floor having been struck by the 15-year-old, who could then be seen assaulting him with a large knife.
At one point Harley got to his feet and struck the younger defendant, who was bleeding heavily from a head wound when he got home later that morning, Mr Wood said.
The 17-year-old, also armed with a knife, joined him within seconds and the pair inflicted "heavy and numerous" blows to Harley's head, body and legs as he kicked out in a "futile attempt to defend himself", the court heard.
As the defendants left the scene, Harley got to his feet and staggered down the road, bleeding heavily, Mr Wood said.
He could also be seen on CCTV discarding a knife, which was later found to have the younger defendant's blood on it.
The judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, said: "There is no good reason for carrying a knife in public. It is a lie that carrying a knife makes young men safe.
"It isn't big, it isn't tough, it is a path to despair and destruction.
"It did not keep Harley safe, it led to his death.
"It did not keep either of these defendants safe, they are going to lose a significant portion of their lives in custody."
Police insist knife crime is "top priority"
In a statement, West Yorkshire Police insisted "taking knives and those who use them off the streets" was a "key priority" for the force.
It outlined a number of operations employed by the police force to try to tackle knife crime, including Operation Jemlock, which has seen teams of specialist officers deployed in "hotspot" areas.
The force said this provided an extra visible policing presence to deter offending and proactively hunt down offenders.
West Yorkshire Police added it was working with a number of partners, such as charities and youth groups, to tackle offending.
Statistics provided by the force show knife offences for 2022/23 financial year were 4% lower overall than in 2021-2022, and 8% down in cases involving under 25’s.
West Yorkshire Police said: "This means there were 102 less victims of overall knife crime and 73 fewer victims under the age of 25."
Chief Inspector James Kitchen of West Yorkshire Police’s Operation Jemlock said: "It is no exaggeration to say that police and partners have now engaged with tens of thousands of young people across West Yorkshire about the dangers of carrying knives.
"We are confident the vast majority of those teenagers don’t, and won’t, carry knives.
“We and our partners in the VRP continue to work with partners to reach the minority who do carry weapons to understand why they feel they must do so, and the culture and pressures which drive this.
"Clearly this work goes far beyond policing, and this is a process which will take a long time and need a great deal of support from communities.
“Strong enforcement work continues at all levels to seize weapons and prosecute those that carry them, and we welcome newly announced changes in legislation banning more kinds of bladed weapons.
“We will be working hard to enforce these new measures as they come into effect.”