ONE of the 12-year-old boys who was found guilty of murdering a 19-year-old youth using a machete in a Wolverhampton park last November had an obsession with blades.
Hours before the killing Shawn Seesahai, along with an accomplice, the boy had posed for a picture with the murder weapon tucked into his trousers on Snapchat, according to media reports.
Even while in custody, the boy drew pictures of knives.
Shortly before the murder, the attackers were passing the machete between them at Stowlawn playing fields in East Park, Wolverhampton.
After the deadly attack, they were given a lift home by a family member, who bleached his machete and hid it under his bed.
Messages on Snapchat revealed he was not worried about the repercussions of the murder.
Neither boy has any previous convictions, but police said the youth who hid the murder weapon was involved in an incident of theft.
The boy who owned the machete was happily watching television at home when the police went to arrest him. His accomplice was worried.
His mobile phone also revealed multiple images of large knives and weapons.
There has been an increasing concern over rising knife crimes with activists calling for stringent laws and greater sensitisation of the youth.
The police at Essex and Bedfordshire had recently carried out drives to keep knives off the streets.
In Essex, police destroyed more than 23,000 weapons last year. They have put up detection gates in the city centre to deter people from bringing a knife.
However, knives continue to be available on the net with illegal dealers selling weapons to under-18s via social media channels.
Commander Stephen Clayman, the national lead for policing knife crime, told The Telegraph that the accessibility of knives online was a major concern.
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)