Don't do it!' Last plea of boy killed by sword gang: Hunted down in upmarket London street by a mob as he begged for his life

A boy of 16 pleaded ‘don’t do it’ moments before he was killed by a hooded gang wielding knives and swords in a street lined with multi-million-pound homes.
Hani Abou El Kheir tripped as he desperately tried to escape from around 15 teenagers wearing hoods and bandanas who were chasing him.
Moments later the gang pounced ‘like a pack of dogs’ and Hani was repeatedly kicked and stabbed as he pleaded for his life.
His attackers left him for dead and jogged off ‘as if nothing had happened’.
Hani’s mother Pauline Hickey, 39, with whom he lived in a nearby flat, was said to have been ‘wailing’ as she was held back at a police cordon while medics tried to save her son.
He died in hospital less than two hours later.
The attack took place at about 6.45pm on Sunday in Pimlico, an affluent district in central London where Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has a home.
On the north side of the street where Hani was attacked are houses worth millions of pounds.
However, to the south sits the crime-ridden Churchill Gardens estate, which has recently seen a sharp rise in drugs offences, according to a youth worker.
Yesterday one witness to the attack said: ‘We saw him running really fast but then he tripped.
'There were about 15 of them, most wearing dark hoodies and bandanas over their faces. A lot of them were wearing tracksuits.

Scroll down for a video of an eye witness account

 

Scene guard: A policewoman stands guard on Lupus Street this morning while a police investigation goes on

 

Horrific: The stabbing happened close to the junction of Lupus Street and Westmorland Place shortly before 7pm
‘They had wide kitchen knives and other knives and they jumped on him like a pack of dogs. He was shouting ‘‘don’t do it’’ but they just went ahead.

 

'One put a blade in near his ribs. Others then kicked him before just jogging off as if nothing had happened.
‘They put their weapons in socks and then shoved them up their sleeves as they were going. We tried to help him as he was lying on the ground.’

 

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

 

Community: Neighbours this afternoon described the victim as a 'nice boy, polite'

 

Teodor Watson, 22, who lives in a flat overlooking the crime scene, said he heard what sounded like a brawl.
‘I heard a lot of commotion, the victim was shouting,’ he said.

‘I came outside and saw the victim standing and holding his stomach.

'There were about three or four young blokes running down the street. He was reeling and swaying for about 20 seconds and then fell.’
Mohammed Alzubaidi, 49, 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 added.
Hani is understood to have suffered multiple stab wounds to his chest and stomach.
Within minutes of the stabbing, his mother ran up to the police cordon.

 

Shocked: Nearby residents have said a gang of black and white teenagers were seen carrying out the attack

 

Crime scene: The scene in Lupus Street is still cordoned off this morning as police investigate the circumstances surrounding the attack on the boy
Steve Russell, 46, a project manager, said: ‘She was screaming with grief and shouting her son’s name but they wouldn’t let her through.’
Miss Hickey, who is separated from Hani’s father Hicham, was too upset to talk about the loss of her son yesterday.
But in a note attached to a floral tribute near the scene she wrote: ‘My heart is broken. I love you so much. The pain is unbelievable. Your loving mum.’
A man at the family home said: ‘He didn’t deserve to end up on a slab. He was a nice boy.’

 

 

Forensics: Police were called to the scene on Lupus Street in Pimlico, central London, at 6:50pm last night

 

Investigation: A police forensics tent pictured at the scene where a 16-year-old boy was fatally stabbed in Pimlico, central London, last night
Forensics officers were  yesterday scouring the scene for clues. Last night Scotland Yard said no arrests had  been made.
It remained unclear what led to the murder. One theory is that Hani became caught up in a row over the sale of drugs on the estate.

Youth worker David Savizon said Hani was ‘on the periphery of having some sort of contact with gangs or activity such as drugs’.
He added: ‘We are very concerned about the impact of drugs, and competition between dealers in this area.
‘Younger and younger children are being recruited. From the ages of ten or 11 they are enticed by a £20 note to act as runners and it escalates from there.’

 

 

Popular area: The boy was stabbed in Lupus Street in Pimlico, a popular residential area of central London, sitting just south of Victoria train station on the north bank of the River Thames

 

Inquiry: A police officer makes notes close to the scene where a 16-year-old boy was stabbed in Pimlico

 

Hani had been a pupil at the nearby Pimlico Academy but left some time ago and is thought to have been unemployed.

Jerry Collins, head of Pimlico Academy, said: ‘Hani was a popular boy who conducted himself in an exemplary manner and will be much missed.’
Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: ‘It is heartbreaking to see the life of another young Londoner taken so tragically. My thoughts are with this young man’s family at such a terrible moment.

 

Scene: The stabbing took place in the Pimlico area of central London

 

Tributes: Flowers are left at the scene in Lupus Street where a teenager was stabbed yesterday evening

 

Heartfelt: A tribute is left for Hani Abou El-Kheir in pimlico today

 

Hunt for clues: Forensic police search bushes near the crime scene today

‘This horrific incident serves as an unwelcome reminder that although violent crime in the capital continues to fall, we must continue our fight to tackle youth violence and get knives off our streets.’
Hani is the first teenager to be murdered in London this year.

Last year aspiring football coach Oliver Husseini, 17, was left fighting for his life after being stabbed in a nearby street.