Show caption His family said that Hakim Sillah was a ‘lovely lad … he loved looking after his little brother, who had been ill’. Photograph: Metropolitan Police/PA UK news Teenager charged with murder over stabbing at knife awareness course Police say Hakim Sillah, 18, died in Uxbridge fight over which event 17-year-old boy will face court PA Media Sat 9 Nov 2019 02.56 GMT Share on Facebook

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A teenager who was stabbed to death in a fight while attending a knife awareness course has been named as Hakim Sillah.

Scotland Yard said a group of young people were at the appointment-only event hosted by the council-run youth offending service at Hillingdon civic centre in Uxbridge, west London, on Thursday afternoon.

Officers were called shortly after 4.40pm to the scene, where Sillah, 18, was found with a stab wound. He was taken by ambulance to a west London hospital, where he died shortly before 5.30pm.

A 17-year-old boy was arrested and later charged with murder. He is due to appear before Uxbridge magistrates’ court on Saturday.

Detectives praised a third teenager who was injured while trying to break up the fight.

In a statement, Sillah’s family said: “Hakim was a lovely lad who cared about his family and preferred spending time at home with his family.

“He loved looking after his little brother, who had been ill. The parents and family of Hakim would be grateful for any information from members of the public to help this investigation.”

DCI Noel McHugh, who is leading the murder investigation for the Metropolitan police, said the incident was “an absolute tragedy”.

“A young man with his whole life ahead of him has been fatally attacked and his family are absolutely devastated,” he said.

“We are doing everything we can to find those involved. What we know so far is that a fight broke out between males at the location and as a result, this young man received fatal injuries.

“A second independent male bravely tried to intervene to break up the fight and as a result was also stabbed.”

He said he had spoken to the victim’s family on Thursday night and described them as “absolutely broken”.

Earlier on Friday morning, Boris Johnson, who is campaigning to be re-elected for the constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip, tweeted: “Very sad news from Uxbridge last night. My thoughts are with the victims friends and family.”

Asked for details of the event and whether people were screened before entering the building, Hillingdon council said: “The matter is being investigated by the police and we are unable to comment further at this time. Our thoughts are with the victim’s family.”

McHugh appealed for anyone who may have captured footage of the incident or events before and after it to share it with police.

“We’ve made an arrest and we are not looking for anyone else at this time, but equally we need witnesses to come forward or people who hold information,” he said.