Two boys, 15, sentenced in connection with murder of Muhammad Hassam Ali in Birmingham city centre

Two 15-year-old boys have been sentenced for the murder of a teenager in Birmingham city centre.

17-year-old Muhammad Hassam Ali was sat with a friend in Birmingham's Victoria Square in January when he was stabbed in the heart in broad daylight.

The two boys, who cannot be named because of their age, have now been sentenced for his murder.

West Midlands Police used CCTV to identify and track the boys

During the trial, the court heard Ali and his friend had got hot chocolate at a coffee shop before heading to the square, where they “simply sat down chatting and using their phones” when they were approached by the two youths “as if from nowhere”.

They had followed them from Grand Central Shopping Centre and through New Street before confronting Ali and his friend at Victoria Square and did not introduce themselves when they approached, instead asking Ali and his friend if they knew who had “jumped a mate” of theirs a week before, and where they came from.

After a conversation lasting about four minutes, in which the killer alleged Ali and his friend told them to “f*** off” and “p**s off”, Ali allegedly said: “Bro, I don’t know what you’re talking about, you’re p*sing me off”, which prompted one of the youths to pull out a large knife and stab him in the chest before they both fled.

One of the boys has been detained for a minimum of 13 years for carrying out the murder.

The second boy, his friend, has been detained for five years for joint enterprise manslaughter.

"The loss of Muhammad will always haunt us"

In a statement, Muhammad's family said: "We as a family still can’t even bear to think about how he died, even writing the word murdered destroys a little bit of us again.“The loss of Muhammad, or any child, is devastating and life destroying but the fact that someone has so brutally taken his life in such a horrific way will always haunt us.

"It’s so difficult to express how his death has affected our family’s lives. His teachers told us how clever he was and the kindness he showed in helping others."The students told us how friendly and chatty he was to be around and they told us how they will miss him. He dreamt of becoming an engineer and his passion was to work hard to achieve his goal.

"This dream will no longer come true, not for wanting to work hard but at the hands of another."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…