Sidali Mohamed death: Boy guilty of student's murder outside college Published duration 12 July 2019 Related Topics Birmingham knife crime

image copyright Family handout image caption Sidali Mohamed was attacked outside the gates of Joseph Chamberlain College

A 17-year-old boy has been found guilty of murdering a student near a college in Birmingham.

Sidali Mohamed, 16, was stabbed outside the gates of Joseph Chamberlain College in Highgate on 13 February. He died days later in hospital.

Killer Louai Ali, who can now be named, was also convicted of wounding with intent and unlawful wounding. He is due to be sentenced on Monday.

The murder weapon was bought for £50 via Instagram, jurors were told.

In evidence, Ali said he agreed to purchase the 10in zombie knife before meeting the seller near his home.

He had headed to the college armed with the knife after his friend and cousin had been encountering issues with a group of boys, Birmingham Crown Court heard

image copyright West Midlands Police image caption Louai Ali will be sentenced on Monday

The murder trial was told the victim was killed in "less than a minute"

Sidali - known as Sid - was one of three teenagers separately stabbed to death in Birmingham within the space of 12 days earlier this year.

Prosecutor Michael Burrows QC told the hearing it was troubling that "knives are being bought in car parks".

media caption 'If you carry a knife, we'll put you in jail'

Judge Mark Wall QC said lifting reporting restrictions, which normally ban the media from naming defendants aged under 18, was in the interests of "open justice".

He said it was in the public interest to identify Ali due to the serious nature of the offences, adding that the boy would turn 18 in jail in 10 months time anyway.

image copyright West Midlands Police image caption Louai Ali (yellow marker) and Sidali Mohamed (red marker) captured in a confrontation seconds before the fatal stabbing

Ali was also found guilty of two counts of possession of an offensive weapon.

The teenager, of Hosnet Grove, Birmingham, was cleared of another count of wounding with intent and threatening another with an offensive weapon.

He has a string of previous convictions including possession of a bladed article, battery, drugs and robbery.

image copyright West Midlands Police image caption The murder weapon was bought via social media

A victim impact statement from Sidali's family said a "huge void" had been left in their lives.

"He was driven, aspired to be an accountant and was a role model to his younger brothers," they said.