Hit and Run
A young man was killed in a hit and run incident in Birmingham the other night.
A victim of the copycat violence that spread like a rash across London - and other UK cities this week.
He was out with his friends standing on the pavement - as part of a human shield - protecting local businesses from looters and vandals.
When someone drove a car straight into them - fatally injuring three young people.
His father - Tariq Jahan - who was also out that night 'defending his local community' - rushed to the scene from a short distance away - and started giving first aid to one of the injured men.
Not realising that his 21-year old son was lying dead on the ground - behind him.
Later the grief stricken father gave the most dignified statement I have ever heard - from someone caught up in such horror.
He paid tribute to his young son, but refused to blame the police - or the government - for what happened.
Nor did he encourage an angry crowd to hold a 'vigil' - outside the local police station.
Presumably because he knew that scapegoating the police or anyone else would have been completely unjustified - and could only have made a terrible situation even worse.
The police now have a man in custody and are treating the incident as a murder - and rightly so.
I hope Mr Jahan gets justice for his son.
A victim of the copycat violence that spread like a rash across London - and other UK cities this week.
He was out with his friends standing on the pavement - as part of a human shield - protecting local businesses from looters and vandals.
When someone drove a car straight into them - fatally injuring three young people.
His father - Tariq Jahan - who was also out that night 'defending his local community' - rushed to the scene from a short distance away - and started giving first aid to one of the injured men.
Not realising that his 21-year old son was lying dead on the ground - behind him.
Later the grief stricken father gave the most dignified statement I have ever heard - from someone caught up in such horror.
He paid tribute to his young son, but refused to blame the police - or the government - for what happened.
Nor did he encourage an angry crowd to hold a 'vigil' - outside the local police station.
Presumably because he knew that scapegoating the police or anyone else would have been completely unjustified - and could only have made a terrible situation even worse.
The police now have a man in custody and are treating the incident as a murder - and rightly so.
I hope Mr Jahan gets justice for his son.
