Two rival gangs became involved in a vicious knife fight at a busy shopping centre after a row broke out in a Nike store. On Tuesday, th...
Two rival gangs became involved in a vicious knife fight at a busy shopping centre after a row broke out in a Nike store.
On Tuesday, the five men were jailed for a total of ten years at Birmingham Crown Court, after the brawl on September 6 last year.
Shocking CCTV footage shows violence erupting between the two gangs, who bumped into each other by chance at the Nike shop in Birmingham's Resorts World shopping centre.
CCTV footage shows a knife fight between two rival gangs at a Nike shop in Birmingham's Resorts World shopping centre on September 6 last year. Pictured, Samba Faal is knocked to the ground during the violence
Samba Faal and Christ Lidiu (pictured) were in the Nike shop when they, by chance, bumped into Damel Lebert, Shyieme Lynvest and Raseante Spencer-Hamilton
CCTV footage of the fight shows the gang members brandishing knives (left) after violence erupted between the five men
Samba Faal and Christ Lidiu were seen in the shop as Damel Lebert, Shyieme Lynvest and Raseante Spencer-Hamilton walk in.
In the footage, the three men appear to back off as Faal and Lidiu confront them in the doorway.
Lynvest appears to show the rival group he has a knife hidden underneath his clothes.
Faal is punched and falls to the floor unconscious before Hamilton and Lebert jump on him.
Lidiu then lashes out with a knife at Hamilton, leaving him with a 30cm slash wound to his arm which cut down to the bone.
After being stabbed in the back by Lidiu, Lynvest sprints outside and drops his knife down a drain while he is dripping with blood and clutches his wound.
On July 14, the five men jailed for a total of ten years at Birmingham Crown Court after being convicted of violent disorder
Shyieme Lynvest dropped his knife down a drain (pictured) after he was stabbed in the back by Christ Lidiu
Samba Faal, 21, (right) of Coventry, was jailed for two years while Christ Lidiu (left), 20, of Walsall, West Midlands, was caged for two years and three months
An investigation by West Midlands Police Birmingham Organised Crime & Gangs Team identified the men who were arrested weeks later.
All five men were jailed at Birmingham Crown Court on July 14 for a total of 10 years and four months, after being convicted of violent disorder.
Chief Inspector Phil Cape said: 'This was a really violent incident in a shopping centre, while families are seen on CCTV clearly trying to enjoy a day out.
'I'd like to thank the members of the public who came forward to help with the investigation, and the officers who quickly recovered this footage.
'Yet again, we have young men who are now spending time behind bars because they thought it was acceptable to carry a knife. It never is.'
In the CCTV footage, Shyieme Lynvest (left) appears to show the other men that he is hiding a knife underneath his clothes
Lynvest's knife (above) was later recovered by police after it was dropped down a drain during the violence at the shopping centre
Raseante Spencer-Hamilton, 21, from Staffordshire, (left) was jailed for 2 years while 22-year-old Shyieme Lynvest (right) from Birmingham was jailed for 26 months
An investigation by West Midlands Police Birmingham Organised Crime & Gangs Team identified the men, who were arrested weeks later. Pictured, Damel Lebert, 23, who has been jailed for 20 months
Faal, 21, of Coventry, was jailed for two years while Lidiu, 20, of Walsall, West Midlands, has been caged for two years and three months.
Lebert, 23, of no fixed address, was jailed for 20 months while Lynvest, 22, from Birmingham, was jailed for two years and three months.
Twenty-one-year-old Spencer-Hamilton, from Staffordshire, has been jailed for two years.
Mr Cape added: 'We'll continue to arrest people and disrupt gang activity in Birmingham, while working with other organisations to help young people at risk of falling into that lifestyle.
'And our work to tackle the wider issue of knife crime continues, with dedicated patrols, and work to educate young people of the risks they face when they decide to pick up a blade.
'We want young people to know that there is a better way, but that if they choose to go down that path, they can expect to be arrested and jailed.'