Three teenagers have been handed custodial sentences for a brutal knife attack on a 15-year-old boy in a Birmingham park, an incident described by the judge as involving a "degree of pre-meditation".
A Vicious Attack Captured on CCTV
The violent assault took place at 8.39pm on March 7 this year in Morris Park, Alum Rock. CCTV footage from a nearby mosque on Clodeshall Road captured the shocking moment the victim was dragged against a fence by Ishfaq Ibrahim, Mohammed Hasan, and a third 17-year-old male who cannot be named due to his age.
The group repeatedly punched, kicked, and stabbed the boy. Ishfaq Ibrahim, 18, from Edmund Road, Alum Rock, was identified as the most aggressive and was seen carrying out the stabbing. The court heard the attack was motivated by the pathetic reason that the victim was perceived to be in "rival territory".
Sentencing and Aftermath for the Victim
At Birmingham Crown Court, Judge Paul Farrer KC sentenced the attackers on Tuesday, December 23. Ishfaq Ibrahim received four years and ten months after admitting wounding with intent and possession of a bladed article. The unnamed 17-year-old was given the same term for the single wounding offence.
Mohammed Hasan, 18, from Gowan Road, Alum Rock, was sentenced to four years and five months. He also pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited weapon relating to a separate incident involving a converted blank-firing gun in May 2023.
A fourth defendant, 22-year-old Idris Urfan of Monk Road, Ward End, who filmed the attack from his Volkswagen Golf and drove the assailants away, was jailed for 12 months for assisting an offender.
The victim managed to stumble from the park and flag down a member of the public. He was rushed to Birmingham Children's Hospital where he underwent eight hours of surgery for wounds to his back, shoulder, and torso. Nine months on, he has not regained full use of his injured arm.
Lasting Trauma and Courtroom Mitigation
The boy's father told the court his previously "vibrant, smiley boy" now struggles to speak, suffers constant nightmares, and is too scared to leave the house. Prosecutor Daniel White said the victim recalled being asked if he was "from the area" before being set upon with a knife when he said no.
In mitigation, defence barristers cited the youth of the attackers. Ben Williams, for Ibrahim, described him as "intelligent, caring and has a gentleness to his nature". Curtis Myrie, for Hasan, said he lacked maturity and had undiagnosed indicators of ADHD and autism.
However, the judge referenced Instagram messages where the 17-year-old described the area as a "no rules warzone" and said they "went to punch him up" but it "ended up bad by accident". Judge Farrer concluded all three were 'dangerous' but decided not to impose extended sentences, noting their youth and capacity for change. All four defendants were arrested within days of the attack.
