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Mother's tribute to 'gentle' riot victim
Oct 24 2005
A "gentle and deeply religious" IT worker was stabbed to death during rioting in Birmingham after being set upon by up to 11 men, police said tonight.
Isiah Young-Sam, 23, was attacked in the Lozells area of the city on Saturday as he walked home with his younger brother, Zephaniah, and two friends from an afternoon at the cinema.
Speaking at a news conference at West Midlands Police headquarters, Detective Superintendent Dave Mirfield said Isiah was brutally assaulted after a group of men emerged from three cars.
"Those cars contained, we believe, between 10 and 11 men.
"These men got out of the cars, armed with knives, and attacked Isiah and his friends."
Isiah, who worked for Birmingham City Council, died from a single stab wound to the chest and his friend was stabbed in the back during the incident in Carlyle Road, Lozells.
Isiah, a trainee analyst described by his mother as well-mannered and old-fashioned, was pronounced dead at 7.25pm after being taken to City Hospital.
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Mr Mirfield said Isiah, his brother and their friends had caught a bus from the city centre to Perry Barr before setting off for the Lozells area.
Although a motive for the attack has yet to be established, Mr Mirfield said it was clear that Isiah was an innocent victim.
Earlier, Isiah's mother and his colleagues paid tribute to his gentle nature.
LOZELLS RIOTS - YOUR VIEWS
"I live down one street off Lozells.
"Those that are not involved directly are also to blame. The parents and elders who watched from the windows knew that their kids were out that night.
"I know a few on my street had left their house with baseball bats.
"I knew on Friday and was told to stay indoors - word on the street - riots were taking place and people were tooling themselves up.
"Soon I am going to be moving to another area - I'm sick of this madness!" Ali Hasan, Birmingham
"I am disgusted by the riots that took place last weekend. I can't believe how society has reacted to this situation, violence is not the answer.
"The Sikh community are also being wrongly attacked. I was at work at the time when violence had erupted on my street.
"Cars smashed, windows broken, businesses looted and, worst of all innocent people attacked, it's just inhuman." Baljit Singh Banga, Handsworth
"This girl needs to come forward, or else people will have died in vain." Caroline
Murna McLean was called to City Hospital on Saturday but her son, a computer-mad fitness fanatic, was already dead.
Mrs McLean said that her son loved to wear a suit and tie to work and would read a chapter of the Bible each morning.
She added: "He had very good manners in a slightly old-fashioned way.
"He was gentle and would hold open a door or help someone with their shopping.
"He didn't have the lifestyle of a typical black young man in Lozells. He wasn't out on the streets or at parties - he didn't even have a steady girlfriend.
"If someone had tried to drag him into an argument he would have laughed and walked away."
Glyn Evans, director of business solutions and IT at Birmingham City Council, said: "This is very sad news indeed for everyone who worked with Isiah.
"Isiah was a very pleasant and hard working young man.
"He was very popular with his colleagues and had a bright future in front of him.
"He joined us as a trainee five years ago and was currently employed as an analyst on our IT help desk."
Mr Evans said: "He will be greatly missed. I and all his colleagues extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends."
At the scene of the killing, which occurred during riots which left more than 30 people in hospital, a large bunch of flowers had been left propped up against a set of red gates.
A message attached to the flowers read: "Rest in peace on the right hand side of God. Missing you already."
Meanwhile, West Midlands Police were continuing to investigate a second murder in neighbouring Newtown.
The 18-year-old victim, who has yet to be named, suffered gunshot wounds to his head and arm.
Two local men, aged 19 and 24, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and remain in police custody.
A force spokeswoman said it was "too early" to say whether the death was linked to Saturday's violence.
It is known that the 18-year-old was seen to stumble in Melbourne Avenue at about 12.40am today by police called to reports of a man seen brandishing a firearm.
Police approached the suspect to arrest him and found he had suffered gunshot wounds to his head and arm.
They gave first aid and paramedics were called, but the victim died later in hospital.
The death followed what police described as sporadic outbreaks of disorder last night of a "considerably lower scale" than Saturday night.
Saturday's rioting, involving black and Asian youths, erupted after residents attended a public meeting addressing concerns about an unconfirmed sex attack on a 14-year-old Jamaican girl, said to be an illegal immigrant.
The hotly-debated rumour at the centre of the trouble, which remains unsubstantiated, is that the girl was raped after shoplifting from an Asian-owned store.
