Two 15-year-old boys are guilty of stabbing a 17-year-old to death as he enjoyed hot chocolate with a friend on a winter’s day.

Two 15-year-old boys who violently attacked teenager Muhammad Hassam Ali as he enjoyed a hot chocolate in Birmingham city centre with a friend have been found guilty.

One of the boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons due to his age, was convicted of murder and possession of a knife, while the other was convicted of manslaughter and possession of a sharp object, West Midlands Police said.

The couple will be tried in October.

Detective Inspector Michelle Thurgood, who led the investigation, said: “Sadly this is another case of young men carrying a knife and being prepared to use it with catastrophic consequences.

“Muhammad had simply spent the day with a friend. There is no evidence that he knew any of the boys who killed him, and there is no evidence that he was involved in a previous attack.

“This appalling violence that is causing families pain must stop. We are working tirelessly to tackle knife crime, arrest those carrying blades and help educate those who could be drawn into this lifestyle.

“But we need help. We need the help of parents, guardians, teachers, everyone who cares for young people. I urge them to share Muhammad’s story with the young people in their lives and really think about the devastating impact this has had on everyone involved.”

Muhammad, 17, died after being stabbed in the heart in broad daylight on January 20 this year while sitting in Victoria Square.

The schoolchildren had followed the couple and demanded to know where they were from and whether they were responsible for an earlier attack on one of their friends, which was not the case.

Muhammad told them to leave, at which point one of the boys pulled out a large knife and stabbed him in the chest.

The perpetrators were caught on CCTV cameras following Muhammad and his friend through Grand Central Shopping Centre and Birmingham New Street Station before approaching them in Victoria Square.

Giving evidence at Coventry Crown Court earlier this week, one of the boys told jurors he had not intended to kill Muhammad, saying: “I just wanted to scare them, I didn’t want to do anything with it (the knife).”

He told his lawyer Michael Ivers KC that he carried a knife for protection after being attacked with weapons in the past, and also regularly wore a blue Covid-style mask so people would not recognise him.

As he was shown CCTV footage of their interaction, Mr Ivers asked the defendant why he continued to place his hand on his right side.

He said: “I thought they were going to do something, so I was trying to scare them, to let them know I had something on me.

“I just wanted to scare them, I didn’t want to do anything with it (the knife). I don’t remember what they were saying, but it was like ‘fuck you’ or ‘f**k off’. They were getting more and more aggressive.”

Asked by Mr Ivers why he did not walk away, the defendant replied: “If I had turned my back, something could have happened to me, they could have attacked me.

“It was getting more and more aggressive, Ali was saying he was going to do something.

“I have already been assaulted in my life, I don’t want to be assaulted again. I was afraid.”

Describing the moment Ali was stabbed, he said: “I’ve had times in the past where people have picked on me and I didn’t expect it.

“When I took out (the knife), I had him by my side, they were becoming more and more aggressive in the way they were talking and moving.

“I put (the knife) in front of me, (Ali) leaned back and I thought he was going to do something to me and the knife went through him.”

He said he did not realise Muhammad had been stabbed until he turned around as he was walking up the steps of Victoria Square and saw Muhammad’s friend holding the victim’s chest.

He said he fled because he was “panicked.” He also told jurors he only learned of Muhammad’s death the next day, when he read about it on the news.

It comes as a recent report showed the number of children seriously injured by knives in England and Wales has increased by 47% in just 10 years.

The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) has warned in its latest report that serious knife violence has increased significantly in recent years, further affecting some of Britain’s most deprived communities.

The London-based non-profit noted that police have failed to solve most crimes, successfully investigating just 9% of cases, compared with 25% a decade ago – while funding for essential prevention resources has dried up.

The report notes that spending on youth services has “more than halved” since 2012-13, and that many more children are ending up in care, in absolute poverty or referred to mental health services, weakening the “safety nets” in place to support the most vulnerable.

Black children were more than six times more likely to be murdered relative to their share of the population in 2022-23 — a difference that has “narrowed” recently, but remains worse than a decade ago.