Family and friends pay tribute to boy, 16, stabbed to death in Luton

Tributes have been paid to a 16-year-old boy who was murdered in a spate of knife crime in Luton which has left two other teenagers fighting for their lives and two more injured.

The boy, who was named by family and friends as Ashraf Habimana, suffered multiple stab wounds in Nunnery Lane in the town at around 7pm on Friday night (September 29). He was taken to hospital, but was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

His father went to the murder scene, an area close to the Old Moat House Pub, on Saturday. The man, who did not give his name, said: “It is terrible. He is just a boy. He was only 16. I heard last night and came down from Yorkshire. I have split up from his mother.

“We don’t know what happened. He was at the college. He had his future ahead of him.”

More than 20 bunches of flowers were left at the scene. One card read: “Rest in eternal peace Ashraf. Safe in the knowledge you are loved.” Another note read: “Gone but never forgotten.”

A group of youths in hoodies gathered by the flowers. One, who said he was aged over 18, refused to confirm the dead boy’s name. He said: “We are upset we have lost our friend.”

A second teenager was injured in the attack and is being treated at hospital for potentially life-threatening injuries. A third victim also received serious injuries, though these are not being treated as life threatening. Three teenage boys have been arrested on suspicion of murder and are being questioned.

Three hours before the attack on Ashraf and the other boys, officers were called to reports that two people were stabbed in Sundon Park Road, just a mile away. One teenager received life-threatening injuries, and a second received serious, but not life-threatening injuries. Both are being treated in hospital. A man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

An alleyway between Sundon Park Road and Moira Close was cordoned off by the police while forensic officers in white suits carried out an examination of the scene and took photographs.

The Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit say they are currently treating both incidents as connected.

The 18-year-old at the Nunnery Lane murder scene, said: “The police are saying there is a link [between the two stabbings]. They can say what they like but that is not right.”

Detective Inspector Lee Martin, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: “Appalling violence in Luton cost a teenage boy his life yesterday, and left two others in life-threatening conditions.”

“Both incidents happened in busy areas with several people present. If you witnessed any of these incidents, or if you have any video footage or images, then please get in touch.”

On September 16 a man was stabbed to death at the rear of Sundon Park Health Centre in town. It is 200 metres from Friday’s stabbing scene in Sundon Park. Two boys, aged 16 and 17, appeared in Luton Crown Court last week accused of the murder of 38-year-old Omar Khan from Luton. They are also charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent to a woman who was with him.