Ahmed Alid was found by armed police with the bloody knife tucked in his waistband (Picture: PA)
A Moroccan man who stabbed a pensioner to death in the centre of Hartlepool last year has said he was motivated by revenge for the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
Ahmed Alid, an asylum seeker, killed 70-year-old Terence Carney in the County Durham town on October 15 – just over a week after the Hamas attack on Israel.
Minutes earlier, the 45-year-old had broken into the bedroom of his housemate Javed Nouri, a Christian convert, and hacked at him while he was sleeping.
Mr Nouri, 31, survived the attack at the Home Office-approved accommodation on Wharton Terrace, but was fighting for his life as Alid left with the knife.
A jury at Teesside Crown Court watched doorbell camera footage showing Mr Carney crying out ‘no, no’ as he was stabbed six times.
Alid had denied murder, attempted murder and assaulting two female officers at the police station where he was taken in for questioning.
While he admitted carrying out the stabbings, he said he had not intended to kill or cause serious harm.
Today, the jury unanimously disagreed, finding him guilty of all the offences.
Alid strongly disapproved of Mr Nouri’s conversion to Christianity (Picture: Counter Terror Police /PA Wire)
Prosecutors said the attack on Mr Carney was not frenzied, but a deliberate and targeted effort before Alid walked away and left his victim for dead.
After his arrest by armed police, the knifeman was taken to a holding cell at Middlesbrough police station.
While there, he launched into a speech in Arabic saying: ‘Allah willing, Gaza would return to be an Arab country.’
His rhetoric about the Middle Eastern conflict continued the following day during his police interview, where he told officers he had stabbed the two men because ‘Israel had killed innocent children’.
Prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC told the court: ‘In other words, he said he had committed the attempted murder of Javed Nouri and the murder of Mr Carney in revenge for what he believed to be the killing of children by Israel.’
He added: ‘He swore by Allah that, if he had had a machine gun, and more weapons, he would have killed more victims.’
The bed where Mr Nouri was stabbed by Alid (Picture: Counter Terror Police /PA Wire)
Alid, a terror suspect, attempted to justify his attack to the police by saying the UK had created the ‘Zionist entity’ of Israel and should tell them to leave, adding: ‘They killed children and I killed an old man.’
During his questioning by two female officers he became agitated and got into a struggle with them. One of the women pressed a panic button, but it did not work.
The defendant’s own solicitor rang 999 from within the police station to ask for help, prompting officers to finally rush in and subdue him.
Alid and Mr Nouri were staying in Home Office-approved asylum seeker accommodation (Picture: Counter Terror Police /PA Wire)
After the trial, Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said: ‘The horrific attacks in Hartlepool were unprovoked and deeply disturbing.
‘I have no doubt that the swift response of the attending officers prevented further harm or loss of life that morning.
‘We’re grateful for their bravery in the face of a dangerous and unpredictable suspect.
‘I’d also like to thank the people of Hartlepool for their calm and measured response to that day’s events and for the resilience they showed in the weeks that followed.’
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, the judge at the trial, said she would sentence Alid on May 17.
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