Brother, 13, 'in shock' over Negus McClean murder

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12 April 2012

A 13-year-old boy who saw a gang stab his brother to death is too traumatised to speak about the attack, family members said today.

Negus McClean, 15, was fatally injured in a frenzied knife attack on Sunday night. He and his brother Elijah had been chased by up to nine masked youths on bicycles after they went out for a takeaway in Edmonton.

It is thought an argument may have started over a BlackBerry phone.

The gang, some as young as 14, knocked Negus to the ground before stabbing him in the chest and thigh and then beating him with an iron bar.

The youths, who had bandannas over their faces, fled on their bicycles, leaving their victim in a pool of blood.

Witnesses told how Elijah screamed for help and tried to lift the teenager, shouting: "He's my brother, he's my brother. Help me, help me."
Negus was taken to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel but died from his injuries. His uncle, Philip Brade, said: "The family are doing well but they are still in shock. We are a very close family and they have a lot of people around them to give them support and back-up.

"It hasn't sunk in properly for Elijah. He hasn't spoken about it yet. He is the only person who really knows what happened but he hasn't been able to talk about it. He's still trying to take it all in and at some point it's all going to come out. He is subdued. He seems very quiet."

Mr Brade said Negus's mother, Ingrid, was in shock but was "doing quite well because of all the support she has around her. The family will be having a vigil for Negus every day for the next 10 days." He added: "But this is not only about Negus's death. This is about the knife crime that is sweeping our city and we do not want it any more. People must not stand for their children committing these kinds of crimes. The parents of the perpetrators know who did this. They must know what their children have done."

Elijah is believed to have posted a brief message on YouTube in the hours after the murder. In a posting written under a rap song featuring Negus, he wrote: "R.I.P my brudda negus i love him to bits. Man hearing his voice on da tune hurts me for real i wish he was still here." Negus is the fifth teenager killed in London this year.

Residents claimed a fight started over a mobile phone but sources close to the inquiry said the stabbing was in retaliation for a previous attack.
Four males, aged 14, 16, 18 and 20, have been arrested over the murder and were being questioned today.

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