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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Gang guilty of teenager's murder | Gang guilty of teenager's murder |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| A gang of six youths has been found guilty of murdering a 14-year-old boy in a park near his east London home. | A gang of six youths has been found guilty of murdering a 14-year-old boy in a park near his east London home. |
| Shaquille Smith was with two friends near London Fields in Hackney when the group approached them last August. | Shaquille Smith was with two friends near London Fields in Hackney when the group approached them last August. |
| He was stabbed to death by the gang, who were initially targeting his friend who ran off before the attack. | |
| George Amponsah, 18, Godiowe Dufeal, 20, Amisi Khama, 18, a 16-year-old boy and two 17-year-old boys, all from Hackney, were convicted of murder. | George Amponsah, 18, Godiowe Dufeal, 20, Amisi Khama, 18, a 16-year-old boy and two 17-year-old boys, all from Hackney, were convicted of murder. |
| 'Roving gang' | |
| Shaquille had been sitting with a 16-year-old girl and a boy. His mother had let him off his daily chores because she thought he would be safe with the older girl. | Shaquille had been sitting with a 16-year-old girl and a boy. His mother had let him off his daily chores because she thought he would be safe with the older girl. |
| Aftab Jafferjee QC, prosecuting, said the attackers were a "roving gang" who had "violence on their minds". | |
| A light has been dimmed and put out of our lives. We never had a chance to say goodbye Sandra Maitland, Shaquille's mother | |
| He said: "Within a short time, the friend had to run away, the girl was cut across the neck and face and Shaquille was killed." | |
| The gang of six were remanded in custody until 10 July for reports before sentencing. | |
| Judge David Paget warned them they would all be given life terms. | |
| "I have to bear in mind not just the age of Shaquille but bear in mind his total innocence," he said. | |
| He praised Shaquille's family for their dignity during the trial. | |
| Shaquille's mother, Sandra Maitland, said in a statement to the court: "A knot is in our hearts that will not undo. | |
| "A light has been dimmed and put out of our lives. We never had a chance to say goodbye." |