ON the streets of Wolverhampton, four hooded teens stand behind a drill rapper who sings about speeding in cars, abusing women and getting revenge on those who cross him.
In the city centre, secondary school kids dressed in all-black designer gear and shiny puffer jackets are seen lurking on street corners at 11pm.
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On the estates, residents complain of run-down housing, drug problems and balaclava-clad kids tearing around on e-scooters and bikes.
It is symbolic of the gang culture that nurtured and groomed Britain’s youngest knife killers, aged TWELVE.
The pair cut down 19-year-old Shawn Seesahai with a machete in a park where families play and schoolchildren take shortcuts home.
Today, we can reveal that the boy who owned the blade that killed aspiring engineer Shawn was running with a gang which revels in guns, knives, drugs and drill music.
They were at war with a rival mob in an area of Wolverhampton where a corner shop was found to be illegally selling knives and three gun-toting gangsters last year hit two kids with stray bullets in a playground during a daylight shootout.
A source close to the gang told us of the boy who had the machete: “He was only a little lad but was being groomed for bigger things.
“He had a bit of a troubled background but went totally off the right path when he got involved with older members of the gang.”
Our investigation also uncovered three serious knife crimes — including yobs confronting a pregnant woman — in the city in the past two months.
‘Trouble from start’
Wolverhampton falls under the West Midlands Police area, now the knife crime capital of the UK with 180 blade offences per 100,000 people.
Shawn was stabbed in a park in November last year, with his assailants blaming each other for the attack. The pair are now the UK’s youngest killers since 10-year-olds Robert Thompson and Jon Venables murdered James Bulger, two, in 1993.
The tragedy began when one of the young thugs “shoulder-barged” Shawn on the Stowlawn playing fields in east Wolverhampton.
While his pal managed to flee, Shawn was punched, kicked, stamped on and “chopped” at with the weapon with such ferocity the blade almost passed through his body.
The family of the second boy claim he was led into trouble by his gang-member pal, who was so obsessed with knives he even drew pictures of them in police custody.
He had a bit of a troubled background but went totally off the right path when he got involved with older members of the gang
Source close to the gang
Whatever the truth of that terrible day, the slaying has put the UK’s knife crime epidemic back in the spotlight.
The second boy’s grandmother told The Sun: “We don’t care what his family says, we know the truth of what happened. He wasn’t in trouble before he met this boy.”
Shawn’s family had moved to Birmingham from Anguilla in the Caribbean so he could have cataract surgery.
Meanwhile, the baby-faced gang member convicted of his murder had a fractured upbringing.
In the streets where he grew up, locals gave insight into how the boy, who two years ago was still playing kids’ computer game Minecraft, became a callous killer capable of pushing a machete so hard through his victim’s back it pierced his heart.
Neighbours say the youngster lived with his gran after his mother could not cope.
‘He was never punished’
The grandmother told residents they moved into the area to escape trouble after the boy became involved in another Wolverhampton gang. Locals say he was “trouble from the start”. One man put up CCTV and placed razor wire on his fences to stop the youngster from climbing into his property.
He said: “He was a bloody nightmare. The cops and social services were constantly at the house.
One night the cops had just left after bringing him home at about 11pm and a McDonald’s was delivered to the door shortly after. I couldn’t believe it — he was being rewarded for being bad
Terrorised local
“He broke into a garden across the way and nicked the guy’s scooter when he was 11 years old.
“Police used to bring him back late to the house just about every night.
“His gran has no control over him. He was never punished because she was so soft with him.
“One night the cops had just left after bringing him home at about 11pm and a McDonald’s was delivered to the door shortly after. I couldn’t believe it — he was being rewarded for being bad.” Another neighbour told us: “He was only 12 but had a real arrogant swagger about him and could stare down any adult.”
Other locals told how the park where Shawn was killed is used by drug dealers who recruit kids.
One said: “You see men park up in flash cars, cut through to the woodland area and meet up with young lads before fist-bumping them and handing over small packages. They are clearly dealing.”
Nottingham crown court heard the boy who owned the murder weapon was fixated with blades and idolised drill rapper SJ, real name Jayden O’Neill-Crichlow, who is serving life in prison for a knife killing.
In February 2019, O’Neill-Crichlow was part of a group wielding knives, a Samurai sword and a gun who murdered 19-year-old father Kamali Gabbidon-Lynck in Wood Green, North London. The Sun can reveal the youngster was also in awe of a criminal rapper much closer to home.
On social media, the rapper admits he is on licence from jail and sings: “Mention my name, be knocking at your door . . . I’ll find out where you live, I’m coming to your house.
“Yo know I break rules, don’t apply by the law . . . beat the p***y up, beat the p***y red raw.”
In Bushbury, three men were jailed after a shootout with another gang near a playground last year.
Kian Durnin, 22, Martinho De-Sousa, 24, and Tireq McIntosh, 23, were each caged for 23 years for attempted murder after two kids, including an 11-year-old on a climbing frame, were shot.
Both children survived.
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Last year a Costcutter shop in the same area lost its licence after selling a kitchen knife to a teenager without asking for their age or identification.
Both of Shawn’s killers had pictures of knives on their phones, while the gang member had also searched online for weapons, with some on sale for just £20.
He was watching TV when police arrived at his home to arrest him and the murder weapon was found hidden inside the frame of his bed.
After the trial, West Midlands Police released pictures of the fiend with a machete shoved down his tracksuit bottoms.
His face had to be hidden as the law prevents him and his accomplice being identified because of their age.
Neither has previous convictions but the gang thug was said to be known to police. The two boys met through school, but the second youngster is said to have had a much more stable upbringing.
Rambo machete for £30
He was accompanied in court by relatives who watched both lads playing with fidget spinner toys during evidence.
His grandparents claim he has suffered a miscarriage of justice.
Four miles from the murder scene is a hardware shop with daggers, Rambo knives and large swords in the window.
A Panther knife can be bought for £25, a Rambo machete for £30 and a Predator “heavy” blade for £35.
If you show off with something nice, you’ll get robbed. If you act like a c***, you’ll get stabbed
Local talking about Shawn’s stabbing
A box labelled “new legal carry knives” has small weapons at £6. Buyers must provide ID and proof of address. There is no indication the shop has committed any crime. But the alarming display reflects an underlying attitude to knife ownership in the city.
Some locals were convinced that Shawn — declared blameless in court — must have offended his killers.
One said: “If you show off with something nice, you’ll get robbed. If you act like a c***, you’ll get stabbed.”
On Facebook over the past two months, we saw evidence of three knife offences in the city — an attempted car-jacking, a young lad threatened by a man on a bike and two women, including a pregnant 19-year-old, threatened in a park.
One of the women, who asked not to be named, said: “These kids in balaclavas tried to nick my scooter.
“When I confronted them they got out knives and ran towards us.
“We called cops and the kids threatened they’d be back with more people. My pregnant friend was petrified.”
Shawn is not the first innocent victim knifed to death locally.
Ronan Kanda, 16, was stabbed in the back with a ninja sword yards from his home in a case of mistaken identity in June 2022.
Prabjeet Veadhesa and Sukhman Shergill, then both 17, were jailed for life.
Ronan’s mum Pooja, 47, who is campaigning for a ban on all knife sales, said of Shawn’s slaying: “It brought it all flooding back. There are no words that will make this any better for his family.
“The life I had before was happy — but now it’s gone because of knife crime.”
At the shop selling blades, no one was available to comment.
West Midlands Police called knife crime a “priority”, with specialist officers visiting schools every day in a bid to steer kids away from trouble.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
A spokesman added: “Our Project Guardian taskforce targets serious youth violence, with dedicated patrols in key areas.
“We’ve also been part of a national pilot which gives officers additional powers for tackling knife crime, including serious violence reduction orders.”
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