Mother of 15-year-old boy murdered in daylight street attack says she heard the gunshots that killed her son as she brands his senseless murder ‘every parent’s worst nightmare’
- The mother of murdered 15-year-old Keon Lincoln appealed for witnesses
- Keon suffered gunshot and stab wounds after attack in Handsworth, Birmingham
- The school boy died at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Thursday January 21
- West Midlands Police have arrested five boys, 14 to 16, in connection with killing
The mother of a 15-year-old Keon Lincoln who was murdered in a daylight street attack has revealed that she heard the gunshots that killed him.
In a direct appeal for witnesses to help catch her son’s killers, Sharmaine Lincoln described his murder as senseless and ‘every parent’s worst nightmare’.
Keon died at Birmingham Children’s Hospital last Thursday after suffering gunshot and stab wounds when he was set upon by a gang of youths in Linwood Road, Handsworth, Birmingham.
His grieving mother said: ‘I heard the gunshots and my first instinct was ‘where’s my son?’ Those were the first words I said.
Pictured: (left to right) Family friend Pastor Neville Popo, mother Sharmaine Lincoln and twin sister Kiarah of 15-year-old Keon Lincoln who was murdered in a daylight street attack
‘Then a few minutes went by – I found out that there was somebody up the road and … it was my boy.’
Sitting beside Keon’s twin sister Kiarah to issue her appeal for information, Ms Lincoln asked: ‘How do you live after your child has been taken away from you? It’s every parent’s worst nightmare.
‘What he could have done to warrant this type of brutality doesn’t make sense. He can’t have been taken like this and nobody is punished for it.’
Describing her son as ‘fun-loving, full of life and cheeky’ with a lot of love for family and friends, she added: ‘His laugh was unbelievable. Not a day would go by where you wouldn’t hear it.
Keon Lincoln, 15, who died on Thursday afternoon after being attacked by a group of youths on Linwood Road in Handsworth
‘Come forward to help us … help us to understand why this has happened. It doesn’t make sense to us.
‘The type of person Keon was it doesn’t make sense as to why anybody would want to harm him, or take his life in such a brutal way.’
West Midlands Police have arrested five boys aged 14 to 16 in connection with the killing, four of whom remain in custody.
A 14-year-old boy arrested on Friday has been released under investigation and police have been granted extra time to question another 14-year-old arrested the same day.
West Midlands Police have arrested five boys aged 14 to 16 in connection with the killing, four of whom remain in custody
Police investigating the killing of a Birmingham schoolboy on Linwood Road in Handsworth, Birmingham, on 22 January 2021, where a boy was killed the previous day
Police are still appealing for witnesses or anyone with CCTV footage or dash-cam footage to come forward
A third 14-year-old boy was arrested at his home in Birmingham on Saturday night.
Two boys, aged 15 and 16, were arrested from an address in Walsall, West Midlands, on yesterday.
Police are still appealing for witnesses or anyone with CCTV footage or dash-cam footage to come forward.
Detective Chief Inspector Alastair Orencas, who is leading the investigation, said: ‘The answer to this investigation lies in the community.
‘In the 24 years that I’ve been serving in the police service, and I don’t say this lightly, this is the most gratuitous use of violence seeing a combination of knife and gun attack which ultimately killed Keon.
In a direct appeal for witnesses to help catch her son’s killers, Sharmaine Lincoln (pictured) described his murder as senseless and ‘every parent’s worst nightmare’
‘We know that the nature of this crime, where it involves a young man that has lost his life and young men that have committed the crime, means that the information and intelligence is highly likely to rest with the younger community but also their parents.
‘I know it’s not easy to come forward but there is a moral obligation – imagine this was your friend or your son, you’ve got to come forward.’
Detective Chief Inspector Orencas added: ‘There are multiple offenders involved in broad daylight.
‘I simply don’t believe there isn’t information out there that can help me with the inquiry.’
Police can be contacted via Live Chat on their website or by calling 101. Information can also be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.