Police vow to tackle serious youth violence in Birmingham as Four teenagers killed in five months
Ahead of Dea-John Reid’s funeral last Wednesday, Birmingham have Police vowed to tackle the senseless spate of youth violence that has plagued the city. The family of 14-year-old Dea-John Reid said "nothing makes sense" and urged young people to stop carrying knives.
Dea-John Reid, 14, is among four teenagers who have been killed in the just five months in the city of Birmingham.
He was stabbed in the Kingstanding area of the city on the 31 May this year.
A 35-year-old man has been charged and will stand trial for murder in February 2022.
Delarno Samuels just 17 was stabbed to death in Smethwick a month earlier on 1st May.
The teenager was found with knife wounds in a crashed car and later pronounced dead.
An 18-year-old man has been charged with his murder.
Keon Lincoln, 15, was shot and stabbed in Handsworth on the 21st January this year.
Five boys aged between 14 and 16 are being investigated by the police for his murder.
The latest victim of youth violence in the city was 18-year-old Kimani Martin who died after he was shot in a taxi in Tividale on 20th June.
Three men aged between 19 and 23 have been charged with his murder, and a fourth man is still under investigation.
At the scene by a busy road in Birmingham where Dea-John Reid was killed, his mother and brother laid flowers ahead of his funeral.
More than a month after Dea-Joh’s death, a sea of tributes to the teenager remain. Among them, a poem and handwritten note, which reads: "Your Dad loved you with all my heart".
Kirk Bryan, 29, Dea-John's older brother, fought back tears as he described the moment he found out his little brother had been murdered.
Above: Young teenagers killed in Birmingham in 2021. Image Credits: Sky News
"I was lost for words. I couldn't believe that my little brother was gone. I still don't believe it now. Every day I feel like I see him," he told Sky reporters.
"To know that somebody just took my brother's future away. It's just horrible.
"Why would you do something like that? I don't understand - nothing makes sense to me anymore."
To children and teenagers who carry knives he has a clear message: "Just stop. Just stop."
He is now the main support for Dea-John's mother, Joan Morris.
Dea-Johns’ heart - broken mother said, the loss of her "talented boy" has been devastating.
"It affected me mentally, emotionally, I don't know how to explain".
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