Pupil who stabbed teacher in racist attack given 11 years detention

The pupil, who can not be named for legal reasons, said the racist term “n*****” before stabbing Vincent Uzomah, 50, with a knife during a science lesson at Dixons Kings Academy in Bradford, West Yorkshire on June 11.

During his trial at Bradford Crown Court, jurors heard how the boy racially abused the teacher using the n-word in the build up to the stabbing.

Bradford Crown Court heard how the 14-year-old then fled the school before boasting about what he had done on Facebook.

“Uzomah thought he was going to die”, prosecutor Jonathan Sharp told the court.

Mr Sharp said: ‘He did not show any especial hostility to other teachers.

Uzomah had only been teaching at the school for four weeks when the alleged attack occurred.

The judge accepted that the attack was racially motivated and that the boy – from a Pakistani background – could not handle being disciplined by a black man.

The court heard that the stabbing happened after a row about a mobile phone.

He said: “He approached Mr Uzomah and reached into his pocket but at that point he took out the knife and stabbed Mr Uzomah in the stomach”.

Mr Sharp added: “Mr Uzomah thought he was going to die”.

Speaking outside court, Uzomah said: “As a Christian, I have forgiven this boy who has inflicted this trauma and pain on to me and my family”. It was however, important for the law to run its course and for a strong message to be sent out, especially to kids of similar tendencies, that violence is never acceptable.

He said he forgave his attacker and prayed that he would take the chance to become “a changed person”.

He said: “It’s an appalling reflection on a small microcosm of our society that within minutes or hours after posting, 69 people “liked”.

The teenager sat throughout most of his sentencing with his arms folded, briefly looking up at his victim and yawning when the judge explained the seriousness of his crime.

In a victim impact statement, Mr Uzomah said he found it “hard to understand” why others had “liked” this Facebook status.

Judge Hall refused to lift reporting restrictions barring the media from naming the boy, arguing the case was “wholly different” from Will Cornick – the 16-year-old who stabbed his Spanish teacher Ann Maguire to death.