Forest Gate stabbing: teenager guilty of murder of 16-year-old boy

A teenager has been found guilty of murdering a 16-year-old boy by stabbing him with a ninja-style sword purchased online.

A 17-year-old, who cannot be named due to his age, stabbed Rahaan Ahmed Amin in the chest as he chatted with friends in an east London park last summer.

After a three-week trial at the Old Bailey, he was found guilty of the murder of Rahaan, who died in hospital the following day.

Prosecutor Kate Lumsdon KC told the court the defendant rode his bike into West Ham Park with his face covered and pulled out a long red knife before attacking Rahaan and fleeing.

One witness described seeing Rahaan and his attacker standing “end to end” before the knife was used, while another witness said he saw a boy approach him with his hands on his chest, screaming “save me, please save me.”

Emergency services were called to the scene and Rahaan was taken to hospital, but “nothing could be done” to prevent his death, the prosecutor said.

A police investigation later found the knife used in the murder in a tree in the park, where he was found hanging.

The knife was covered with the accused's fingerprint, DNA as well as Rahaan's blood.

Police also discovered a Snapchat photo, which showed a collection of nine knives lined up on a bed at the defendant's home, one of which matched the one found in the park.

The court heard it was identical to one ordered over the internet via an online store just weeks before the murder on June 12.

This order, along with two similar orders, had been placed using the passport of the defendant's friend's father, who told police he was unaware of the purchase, the court heard.

For the last of the three orders, the defendant's home address was indicated as the delivery address.

The trial heard the trigger for the attack on Rahaan appeared to be an incident in March 2023 after tensions developed between the accused and Rahaan's group of friends.

A friend of the accused was stabbed and Rahaan was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the case, the court was told.

Snapchat conversations between the accused and his friends suggested they “wanted to harm” Rahaan in retaliation for the alleged attack, prosecutor Ms Lumsdon KC said.

During his testimony, the accused claimed that he was acting in self-defense when he used the knife.

Sentencing was adjourned until September 6 for reports.