Student, 18, murdered after being stabbed with combat knife outside town centre shopping centre, jury told

A student was stabbed to death with a combat knife outside a town centre shopping mall after confronting a group of youths, a jury heard. Abdikarim Abdalla Ahmed, 18, died after being knifed to the chest with 'severe' force outside the entrance to the Mill Gate shopping centre in Bury.

Earlier that afternoon he'd been punched in the face by a young man, said to be a friend of his alleged killer. Mr Ahmed and his elder brother had gone 'in search of those responsible' prior to his death.

After he was stabbed, Mr Ahmed, known as Abdul or Abdi to friends and family, ran into a nearby bar holding his chest and shouting that he'd been knifed. He was pronounced dead about an hour-and-a-half later.

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A 17-year-old boy from Bolton, who prosecutors allege 'routinely carried knives', has gone on trial accused of murder. The teenager, who can't be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty and is expected to argue he was acting in self defence.

"The deceased had been assaulted earlier that day by one of the defendant's associates," prosecutor Alaric Bassano told jurors at Minshull Street Crown Court. "With his brother, the deceased, who was unarmed, went in search of those responsible and when he found them, a group which included the defendant, the deceased threw a punch towards the defendant.

"The defendant responded by stabbing the deceased under the left armpit." Mr Ahmed was a student at sixth form college, and was originally born in Somalia.

He and his family fled the country's civil war and moved to Yemen, before arriving in the UK in 2012. Mr Ahmed's brother, Faisal Ahmed, said his sibling had called him on Friday, March 11, and told