'My baby. My heart is broken': Mother of boy, 16, stabbed to death in upmarket London street pays tribute to her son

The mother of a teenager stabbed to death by a gang wielding swords and knives today visited the scene where he was stabbed to pay tribute.

Hani Abou El Kheir's mother Pauline Hickey went to the spot at the edge of Pimlico, one of the UK's most affluent neighbourhoods, where she left a message for the 16-year-old.
Next to a bunch of flowers she left a heartbreaking note that said: 'My baby. My heart is broken. I love you so much, the pain is unbearable. Your loving mother.'

Hani's family, including his mother pictured right in a green jacket with her hood up, looked at floral tributes and left their own at the scene of the stabbing in Lupus Street, Pimlico

Hani Abou El Kheir's mother Pauline Hickey lays a floral tribute near the scene of where her son was killed

In her note left at the scene, Hani's mother wrote: 'My baby. My heart is broken. I love you so much, the pain is unbearable. Your loving mother.'

One of the tributes left at the scene was a thank you poem titled 'dear mum' written by Hani

Her message was one of several now at the site including a note written by Hani to his mother with a picture of him as a child.
It said: 'Thank you for being the best mum. Love to mummy, thank you for everything. Love from Hani.'
Hani was set upon by a group of people in Lupus Street, Pimlico, on Sunday night in what is believed to be a drugs-related attack.

 

Paramedics battled to save his life as he lay bleeding in Lupus Street, but he died a few hours later in hospital.
Scotland Yard said police were 'retaining an open mind regarding any motive at this stage' and confirmed a post-mortem examination into his death will take place. No arrests have been made.
It emerged Hani had become known to drugs intervention workers, and was believed to be 'on the periphery' of local gangs.

Floral tributes left at the scene where emergency services tried to save Hani's life

David Savizon, who works for the Westminster Council's Your Choice anti-gangs programme, said Hani's name had been flagged up to drugs workers last week, and he was due to get a visit from outreach workers if it came up again.
Mr Savizon, 34, said: 'Unfortunately I wasn't able to meet him. He wasn't deemed significant in terms of being in a gang. He was mentioned as someone on the periphery.'
Mr Savizon, who has 12 years of experience working with youngsters at risk of joining gangs, added: 'It was more of a bookmark just to see where this young person was.
'Everything I have heard about him...he was a very timid young man.'

Police forensics carry out investigations yesterday in the street, on one side of which houses sell for an average of £500,000

Mr Savizon said that even if the murder victim was not a senior drugs figure he could still be at risk of being targeted. 'It is a very dangerous activity,' he said.
Last night, Mrs Hickey was being comforted by friends and a police family liaison officer.
She was too upset to comment, but family friend Mahmoud Abosiad, leaving her 7th floor council flat in Gilbert House, 100 yards from the crime scene, said of Hani: 'He was a lovely boy. He did not deserve to end up on a slab.'
Referring to Mrs Hickey, he added: 'We are trying to calm her down. She was up all night crying and is exhausted.'
Evgeny Onegin, 22, whose third storey flat overlooks the cordoned-off death site, said his flatmate saw the boy's attackers flee.

The road on which Hani was close to the Churchill Gardens Estate where he lived with his family

He said: 'My flatmate saw him bleeding out. He said he could see the wound bleeding out from all the way up here. He saw three or four guys running off up the street.
'Lots of people gathered quickly. The victim was shouting and people called an ambulance as they realised what happened.'
It was believed Mrs Hickey or a female friend tried to comfort the teenager as he fought for his life.
Jackie Peralta, 39, watched the scene unfold from his nearby first-floor flat.
She said she thought Hani had been hit by a car. 'I thought it was an accident,' she said. 'I got home at 7.30pm and he was still there.
'There were so many paramedics and policemen and they were giving him first aid. I thought it was a car crash - I didn't know it was a stabbing.'

Police officers search the scene on Lupus Street yesterday following the incident on Sunday night

She continued: 'There was a woman with him saying: 'Honey, honey.' My husband was cooking in our kitchen which overlooks the street. The guy was on the ground for more than 30 minutes.
'It is really scary. On the stretcher he was tall, I am surprised he was only 16.'
Mohammed Alzubaidi, 49, from nearby Peabody Close, said his friend witnessed a gang of black and white teenagers carrying out the attack.
'He said they were carrying knives, some of them with wide swords. He said the victim was screaming and trying to get away.'
In the aftermath of the killing, Hani's old school offered pupils 'therapeutic support'.
Jerry Collins, Hani's former principal said: 'The pupils and staff at Pimlico Academy were deeply saddened to hear about the death of our former student Hani Abou El-Kheir and extend our deepest sympathies to his family.
'Having left the Academy in 2009 Hani rejoined in December 2011 and was a pupil here until the summer of 2012.
'Hani was a popular boy who conducted himself in an exemplary manner and will be much missed.'

It has emerged that Hani was known to drugs intervention workers and may have been 'on the periphery' of local gangs

The Churchill Gardens estate where the teenager lived has become a drugs blackspot in the last year.
Children as young 10 are paid 'tens of pounds' to stash drugs and ferry them around. There is not an established network of drugs gangs.
'The Churchill Gardens estate has become a bit of a hotspot in the last 12 months for drugs,' said Mr Savizon.
'We are really trying to identify who we need to be working with and the community needs to take some accountability for it, they know a lot of what is going on.'
He added: 'We are really concerned about the impact of drugs and the competition between dealers and young people being recruited.'
Mr Savizon said Pimlico was seen as 'an opportunity' by drug dealers.
The area's problem with illegal substances is new, and it does not have a drugs background.
A 58-year-old local resident, who did not want to be named, said there had been two murders in nearby Gloucester Street in recent years and a stabbing of a boy outside a row of shops in Lupus Street before Christmas.
'The violence that has started to occur around here is something else, it is frightening for all the residents,' she said.
'You used to be able to walk around at night but I am starting to be very wary, especially at night-time.'
Police said they were keeping an open mind.
Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Rickett, said: 'This incident is particularly sad given the large amount of progress that has been made in tackling youth violence in Westminster over the last year; there has been over a 60 per cent reduction in the numbers of incidents of serious violence involving youngsters, this equates to more than 90 fewer victims. The number of knife crime victims on the borough is down by 57 per cent...
'This case is currently being investigated by detectives from the Homicide and Serious Crime Command and an incident room has opened which I urge people to contact if they have any information.'

EMOTIONAL POEM WRITTEN BY HANI TO HIS MUM LEFT AT THE SCENE

The grieving family of a 16-year-old boy stabbed to death just yards from his home today left an emotional poem near the spot where he was murdered.
His family, including his mother Pauline Hickey, sobbed as they lay the poem, some red wooden rosary beads, a bunch of pink and white tulips plus a cuddly teddy bearing the words 'I love you' in tribute to the teenager.
The poem, which was written by Hani to his mum and is attached to a smiling picture of the teenager, reads: 'Dear mum, Thank you for toys. Thank you for books. Thank you for a hose (sic).
'Thank you to let me go on trips. Thank you for video. Thank you for DVD. Thank you for girls. Thank you for being the best mum.'
It was signed: 'Love to mummy. Thank you for everything, love from Hani.'
More than a dozen relatives of the murdered teenager had signed the paper the poem was printed on which signed off with the words 'Love always'.
Hani's mum had to be supported by her family as she looked at the half a dozen bouquets of flowers that have been left at the scene.
She was led away by half a dozen relatives after spending around 20 minutes at the scene.