Teenagers not guilty of murdering 15-year-old boy in Glasgow sword stabbing

Two teenagers have been found not guilty of murdering a 15-year-old boy, who was stabbed with a sword.

Amen Teklay was found seriously injured on Clarendon Street in Glasgow's Maryhill on the evening of 5 March 2025 and died at the scene.

Two boys aged 16 and 17, who cannot be named due to their age, went on trial at the city's high court accused of Amen's murder.

Prosecutors alleged the teenagers, with their faces masked, assaulted Amen and brandished a frying pan and a sword or similar instrument at him in Glenfarg Street and Clarendon Street.

The murder charge said that Amen was struck on the body with the sword, leaving him so severely injured that he died.

The teenage defendants denied murder, with the younger of the two lodging a special defence of self-defence.

The 16-year-old had accepted that he stabbed Amen and the jury was asked to decide if he acted in self-defence or if he may have been provoked.

Jurors were also asked to consider whether the second accused, who is 17, acted in concert with the first.

The defence KC for the 17-year-old said he believed "he had done nothing wrong".

Lawyer Iain McSporran KC said the boy "did not lay a finger on Amen Teklay".

He said that on the day of the incident, Amen had "gone out of his way" to find the first accused, and had been armed with a weapon described as a "cutlass" or a "pirate sword".

The 17-year-old had not participated in the violence that followed, Mr McSporran said.

On Monday, jurors returned a verdict of not guilty for both teenagers on their second day of deliberations.

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Amen, who was an Eritrean refugee, was a pupil at St Thomas Aquinas Secondary in the city.

He was a bright pupil with an interest in music and media, his headteacher Claire McInally said at the time of his death.

Jamie O'Neill, a community development worker at Kingsway Community Connections, which supported Amen before his death and has been assisting his family, read a statement outside court.

He said: "Today is an important and emotional day for Amen's family, his friends, and everyone who knew him. Our thoughts remain with Amen's family.

"No court process can take away the pain of losing a child, and they remain very much in our thoughts this afternoon.

"Amen was more than the circumstances of his death. He was a young man who was known, valued and cared about by so many, and his loss has been felt deeply, not only by those closest to him, but by people across our community.

"Since Amen's death, we have seen the very best of people as they have come together to support one another through an incredibly difficult time."

Mr O'Neill said Amen's family intend to establish a foundation in his name.

He added: "The foundation will be dedicated to supporting our community with a particular focus on young people and young men to follow positive paths and move away from violence that has affected so many young people across our country today."

He said it is hoped that Amen's legacy will be one of "compassion, opportunity, and positive change for future generations".

(c) Sky News 2026: Teenagers not guilty of murdering 15-year-old boy in Glasgow sword stabbing