“We can never bring them back,” say Berkshire Messer Crime parents

Two parents whose sons were fatally stabbed within one and a half years have said that they will “never know why they were killed”.

The 18 -year -old Abdul Aziz Ansari died in the hospital in May 2022 after being attacked near shops in Slough, Berkshire.

His best friend Temur Qureshi, Hampden Road in Slough, was fatally stabbed on the Hampden Road in Slough at the age of 19 in September of the following year.

His mother Tatiana Qureshi said she wanted the community to “fight others with knife crime”.

The father of Mr. Ansari, Umar, described him as a “young community leader”, who had campaigned for the fact that anti-knife waste buckets were used in Slough.

He explained that his son had gone “innocent” to visit his friend the day he was killed.

“He went home to take part in dinner to his family that evening and his life was taken.

“The wound was a single stab wound.

“It wasn't just the family who suffered from our tragedy, the whole community was pretty shaken.”

He said that many other parents had turned to him since then and dealt with concerns about the razor crime and the safety of their children.

“We saw a closure of our youth clubs, so our young people don't have many things to do to keep them occupied.

“We see a decline in the positive role models for young people,” he added.

Tatiana Qureshi said her son Temur was persecuted on the way home from the house of a friend when he was attacked.

She said, “someone followed him and I don't know why”

She remembered that his last words “mom, I'm sorry for everything I did. I love you”.

Ms. Qureshi said: “I can't bring Temur back, but maybe we can save someone else.”

A 16-year-old boy was convicted and sentenced to at least 15 years in prison for murder to Mr. Ansari.

During the 18 -year -old Jack Patterson from Slough for nine years for Temur Qureshi's homicide.

Both parents spoke at a razor crime event in Maidenhead, in which police officers, community workers and other parents were taken part in victims.

The Thames Valley police show that there was 122 crimes with knives in Slough in 2024 in Slough in 2024, a decrease of 22% compared to the previous year.

Aamash Qazi, a friend of Temur Qureshi, said three of his friends have died in stabbing in the past five years.

“It's not just me, there are many other boys who have lost friends due to knife crime.

“We have to show young people that it is not too late to turn their lives around.”

Dennis Murray, deputy chief of police from Thames Valley, said: “There are many misunderstandings about the knife crime, some people will think that they will make them safer with a knife.

“In fact, the evidence that they are more at risk of either using it and becoming a perpetrator or becoming a victim of a crime and ending their lives.

“The whole community has to come together to tackle violence.”

“We cannot simply polish ourselves from a problem of knife crime, this requires a holistic and entire community approach,” he added.