- Seydou Diarrassouba died of single stab wound to the heart after Foot Locker attack
- Victim was a member of violent street gang ABM and was facing charges of robbery and assault
- Detectives urge witnesses who filmed incident on mobiles to hand in footage
By Rebecca Camber, Nick Mcdermott and Paul Bentley
Last updated at 12:31 AM on 28th December 2011
Making a gun salute with his fingers, this is the teenager stabbed to death in front of Boxing Day shoppers after a feud between rival gangs erupted in London's West End.
Seydou Diarrassouba, 18, was knifed in the heart after a fight broke out in a trainer store as the two groups were on a shoplifting spree on a packed Oxford Street.
The victim was a member of the notorious London street gang ABM, which stands for 'All 'Bout Money', and the killer was believed to have been involved with the rival 031 Bloods. Territorial clashes between the two South London gangs have claimed several lives since 2007.
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Victim: Teenager Seydou Diarrassouba makes a gun salute while posing for the camera
On YouTube, the victim appears in a homemade rap video in which he talks about guns and killing (see below). A known gangster, he was facing trial over charges of robbery and assault by beating in relation to an alleged attack in September.
On Boxing Day he is believed to have left his home on a council estate in Mitcham, South London, with other members of ABM with the intention of using the sales crush as cover for shoplifting.
But the gang ran into their rivals and violence that is usually restricted to deprived areas of London boiled over in front of crowds of shoppers, tourists and families. Sportswear store Foot Locker became the battleground when the college student was knifed through the heart before staggering outside and collapsing in a pool of blood.
Losing battle for survival: With crowds behind crush barriers, paramedics treat the stabbed youth
Sealed off: Crowds who swarmed the crime scene yesterday were today kept at a distance by police as investigations continued
Patrols: A red police car passes by the branch of Foot Locker where the attack took place as police continued to comb the scene for clues
Clues: A forensics investigator searches the Foot Locker store on Oxford Street, as Boxing Day Christmas deals are advertised through the window
Paramedics battled to save him as crowds of spectators filming the incident on mobile phones pushed against police, trying to get a better view of the dying boy.
He died at the scene at around 1.45pm, the latest victim of London's senseless gang violence.
Just hours later, a second man aged 21 was stabbed in the leg on the same street in what is believed to be a separate and unrelated attack.
Last night detectives were examining hours of CCTV footage from around the West End to establish whether there may have been a confrontation earlier in the day between the two gangs.
Tragic: The 18-year-old victim, Seydou Diarrassouba, poses in a hoodie in a social networking profile picture, and right, in a picture issued by Met Police
Officers were also looking at video from a number of stores in Oxford Street to work out the victim's movements in the hours before the stabbing, as well as examining reports of thefts in the area.
Police said the trigger for the fight remained unclear, although there were reports that a row broke out over which trainers to steal from the shop.
Last night details emerged about how Diarrassouba was sucked into the violent world of gang warfare.
Born in Merton, south London, in 1993 to Muslim parents who came to Britain from the Ivory Coast in West Africa, he was the youngest of three.
Fatal stabbing: The scene outside Foot Locker on Oxford Street where the man was stabbed to death
Emotions running high: Police officers block a member of the victim's family from getting too close to the scene
Murder weapon? A lock knife found at the scene of the stabbing
Probe: Forensic officers in white boiler suits work on the scene as the investigation gets underway
Friends said Diarrassouba was one of the 'bright kids' at Rutlish High School in Merton, before attending South Thames College. His family, who live in a rundown tower-block on the outskirts of Mitcham, south London, were last night too devastated to speak.
But a series of disturbing images and videos seen by the Daily Mail reveal the teenager glorifying violence and smoking what appears to be a 'blunt' – slang for a rolled up cigarette containing cannabis.
Known by the nicknames 'Nutz' and 'TunaRaw', he was an active gang member for at least two years.
Many teenagers who lived near him would avoid him, aware he was part of the ABM gang and could be armed.
Earlier this month, one teenager said he had witnessed Diarrassouba and a fellow gang member attack another group of boys at a house party in Croydon, simply because they were from an opposing faction.
The three victims of the assault were left with bloodied lips and bruised faces.
One associate said: 'He may well pretend to be an angel at home, but he's hardly going to go home and threaten his mother. Seydou was a completely different person when he was with his friends, but that's gang life.
'Around other members he was a bubbly character, but not when he came across his enemies. That was a different story.
'You certainly couldn't trust him. He had a cold and ruthless side to him, and could turn on you in an instant if you were not one of his own.'
Eleven people - including a boy of 16 - have been arrested in connection with the murder, but police are still trying to trace a number of those involved in the attack.
Investigation: Part of the road was cordoned off on one of the busiest shopping days of the year after the stabbing
Crowd control: In this video image, police are seen keeping crowds back while paramedics try to revive the stabbing victim
Pressure point: A policeman fends off one member of the public while onlookers film the scene
Shock: Police stand guard over a blood-soaked item of clothing and belongings of a second person stabbed on Oxford Street yesterday
Probe: A forensics officers moves the victims belongings, including trainers, clothing and an Oyster card, into a bag for examination following the stabbing
Watch the video: WARNING - EXPLICIT LANGUAGE
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