Bradford city centre violence between two rival gangs

Bradford Crown Court heard that 18-year-old Mohammed Hussain was part of a pre-arranged meeting between two groups in Centenary Square on March 4 this year that rapidly escalated into violence.

Prosecutor Michael Smith said Hussain, of Thornton Road, had gone to the city centre as backup to a friend, who had been threatened.

When the friend was attacked by two rival gang members, Hussain attempted to intervene. But when he received a punch Hussain pulled a large machete from a sheath and confronted his attackers before chasing them through the square in full view of shocked members of the public including a mother and a child in a pushchair.

Hussain (Image: West Yorkshire Police)

He even continued the stand-off when one of his rivals pulled out a pistol – later found to be a BB gun – and pointed it at him.

Hussain and his friends then ran off. The entire incident was captured on CCTV.

Mr Smith said the incident, which took place at 3pm on a spring day, was “a very public piece of disorder”.

Two weeks later on March 18, Hussain was spotted in the Leisure Exchange by an alarmed member of staff who noticed the wooden handle of a knife poking out of his waistband.

The police were called and, upon being searched, Hussain was found to have an almost 2ft-long double-sided knife secreted down his trouser leg.

He was then arrested. Via CCTV footage he was subsequently identified and linked to the earlier incident in Centenary Square.

Mr Smith said it was not possible to determine whether the “fearsome” and “particularly nasty” knife was the same weapon used in the affray incident on March 4.

He said the knife was “designed for the infliction of harm with a stabbing end and two blades plus a hooked, curved element to it as well.”

The court heard that Hussain, who later pleaded guilty to affray and possession of a bladed article, had previous convictions for possession of a knife in a public place, robbery, and attempted robbery.

Mitigating, John Bottomley said Hussain had been born to Somali parents in a refugee camp in Kenya where, as a child, he had witnessed “unthinkable horrors” that meant violence had been “normalised” to him.

His family came to the UK when he was five or six years old.

However, Hussain was later exploited by a criminal gang, which forced the family to leave Bradford for Oldham before later returning to West Yorkshire.

Sentencing Hussain, Mr Recorder Simon Jackson KC said he and others had gone armed to meet the rival gang on March 4 and were “prepared for violence to unfold”.

He added: “Anyone present would have been horrified and terrified of this conduct in equal measure.

Centenary Square (Image: T&A)

“The fact that this happened in broad daylight in a town centre reflects the way in which you and others think you can take over the streets to have these encounters with other gangs and produce weapons if you feel threatened.”

Referring to the discovery of the double-edged machete-like weapon on March 18 he said it was “akin to a sword which can be used for slashing and stabbing” and that it was an aggravating factor when viewed in the light of the earlier affray.

He sentenced Hussain to a total of 28 months in prison, banned him from Bradford city centre for five years, and ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the knife.

He added: “The risk that you present can only be met by immediate custody.”

Mr Recorder Jackson previously sentenced 18-year-old Aleem Shafi-Bux, of Burwood Fold, Queensbury, to a total of 18 months in prison suspended for two years for the March 4 affray, imposed a five-month electronically monitored curfew from 8pm to 6am, and banned him from the city centre for three years.