Murdered boy's aunt urges action on knife crime

Alfie Lewis, 15, was stabbed in Horsforth, Leeds, in November 2023

The aunt of a murdered schoolboy has said she is determined to stop other families experiencing the "indescribable" pain of losing someone to knife crime.

Alfie Lewis, 15, died in hospital after being stabbed in the heart and leg in Church Road, Horsforth, in November 2023.

Bardia Shojaeifard, who was 14 when he killed Alfie, was detained for life with a minimum term of 13 years after being convicted of murder in 2024.

Alfie's aunt Mechelle Lewis was speaking at a consultation in Harehills as part of West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin's campaign to tackle serious violence.

"Alfie was taken from us so cruelly and that we cannot change, but we can stand together, united with a voice and with conviction to make a change," Ms Lewis said.

"So, we are working alongside the mayor and community, with a call to do exactly that, make changes. Together and unified, we rise, reshape and rebuild.

"The new three R's for our education system.

"We will not allow Alfie's life to have been taken in vain."

Mechelle Lewis says it is vital parents know what their children are doing and listening to, and who they are interacting with

The event featured personal stories, workshops and discussions aimed at combating violence, with people invited to share their views, experiences, ideas and solutions to help shape a new strategy.

"I am just relieved we are finally at a point that we have a voice on a megaphone scale instead of whispering in the dark," Ms Lewis said.

She said many people were trying to get to the same point in tackling the issues but were doing so independently, when everyone needed to be "singing from the same hymn sheet".

"I feel this platform is giving us an opportunity to do that."

As part of this work, Ms Lewis is also collaborating with Leeds-based RedBobble to create Arts on Alfie: Forever 15 - a trauma-informed, multi-arts intervention.

It aims to reduce knife carrying and prevent youth knife crime through drama and art.

"It's verbatim, so you hear actual words you are kind of there, it takes you to the place," Ms Lewis said.

"If you are engaging with it and actually part of it, you can say 'OK, just pause for a moment' and say at this point 'what would you have chosen to do differently' and then the child can engage in that."

'Void will never be filled'

Describing Alfie as a "beautiful boy", Ms Lewis said people needed to understand what happened to him could happen to any child.

"He was a child who would never have carried a weapon, so for him to be taken so tragically and so violently, it blows the mind.

"There is just not a big enough awareness out there and an understanding that it is prolific.

"We all need to know what our children are doing, what they are listening to and who they are interacting with."

She said the work to tackle knife crime was in her view "Alfie's legacy" but said his death had left a "void that will never, ever be filled".

Ms Lewis said moving forward she hoped the family and especially his mother would know that he had "not died in vain".

"That we will make a difference to stop other families experiencing this, there's a depth of pain that's indescribable - until you live it you will not understand it," she said.

"So let's be unified with a vision for our youth to no longer carry knives, no longer feel they have a fear and they need to."

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