12 held in British teen stabbing death probe

A teenager stabbed to death in the Boxing Day sales has been named by a school friend and described as a “big personality” who always had a smile on his face.

Horrified shoppers saw the 18-year-old stabbed to death in broad daylight during a fight at a Foot Locker sports shoe store on London’s Oxford Street. Just hours later another youth was stabbed in the leg on the same busy street.

School friend Munawar Shaikh, 20, yesterday said the dead man was Seydou Diarrassouba and lived in south London. The pair went to Rutlish High School in Merton, south London, together and grew up in the same area.

Mr Shaikh said: “He was just a good kid who always had a smile on his face.”

Asked if he thought the killing may have been gang-related, Mr Shaikh said: “I cannot say if it was a gang thing, it seems more like it was just a misunderstanding between youths.”

Scotland Yard said there were five 19-year-olds, three 17-year-olds, two 22-year-olds and one 16-year-old among the 12 people arrested in connection with the Foot Locker murder. They are in custody at several London police stations.

The post-mortem examination determined the cause of death had been a “single stab wound to the heart”.

Yesterday police appealed for witnesses with mobile phone footage of the stabbing to come forward.