“My son didn’t deserve this. They didn’t have the right to kill his dreams with one knife.”
“I want to stop the gangs, stop the knives, stop the killing.”
Those were the words spoken by Emine Ozcan, mother of murdered teenager Hasan, on the steps of Barking Town Hall less than one week after her son’s life was taken.
Family, friends and neighbours of Hasan gathered for a rally outside the town hall to call for an end to the youth violence that has blighted the estate.
In addition to Hasan’s death, a 19-year old was shot in the neck on the estate this week and a 17-year-old was stabbed inside Perryman House two months ago. David Agebite, 18, was also murdered on the estate in March.
“We don’t want anyone else hurt anymore. We have to stop this. We have to be together,” said Hasan’s father, Abdullah Ozcan.
Barking MP Margaret Hodge, council leader Darren Rodwell and Cllr Laila Butt, member for enforcement and community safety, all came to pay their respects to Hasan and meet with the family.
“I want to share with everybody our condolences for all the family, all the friends, all the relatives and all the community who have suffered a completely pointless loss of a very wonderful and valued son. Our thoughts are with you and our hearts open up to you,” said Dame Margaret.
The politicians and police in attendance were on the receiving end of heavy criticism from some of those in attendance.
“The police are racist,” one protester shouted.
“If it was a white person that got killed you would see police everywhere and helicopters up,” she said.
Another pointed out that there is open drug dealing in the town centre and said that the police are too “scared” to deal with the problem.
Others raised concerns about the lack of CCTV and street lighting on the estate.
At a meeting last night Gascoigne’s ward councillor Dominic Twomey said that if CCTV cameras are not working that is a “mistake” that the council would fix and a council spokesman has confirmed that streetlights are due for an upgrade on the estate.
The Met have been contacted for a comment.
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