Alfie Lewis’ final moments before the brutal stabbing outside his school

Police have released CCTV footage showing Alfie Lewis walking down the street just moments before he was killed.

Alfie was attacked at the junction of Church Road and Church Lane in Horsforth shortly before 3pm on Tuesday November 7 last year. He was stabbed twice – once in the chest and once in the leg. The chest wound led to catastrophic bleeding and he was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later.

The incident happened on a busy home-school street outside a local primary school as 15-year-old Alfie was on his way to meet friends at Horsforth School, where he had previously been a pupil.

Read more: Alfie Lewis, charged with murder as a teenager, found guilty with shouts of ‘yes’ in courtroom

Eyewitnesses, including children, school staff and members of the public passing by, gave evidence of seeing the youth involved approach Alfie and attack him without provocation.

They reported seeing Alfie backing away and hearing him say “calm down” and “what are you doing?” while the young man was coming at him with the knife. The young man ran away, leaving the knife near the scene, and was arrested from his home about an hour later after being identified by witnesses.

A murder investigation was launched and the kitchen knife, which was matched with a knife set at the boy’s home, was forensically examined and found to have blood on it that matched Alfie’s DNA.

Alfie’s blood was also found on the young man’s clothing, where he had briefly replaced the knife in his waistband before throwing it near the scene. The handle of the knife had been painted black and the youngster is believed to have carried it with him to school all day, preparing to look for Alfie at home.

Today the 15-year-old, who was 14 at the time of the murder, was found guilty following a trial at Leeds Crown Court.

The court was told of two previous incidents involving both boys – one in July, in which Alfie intervened during a fight between the youngster and another boy, and one on October 31, involving a bag of fireworks on which the young man was carrying.

The youngster said he had been threatened by Alfie and feared for his life following the incidents. He denied murder and claimed he acted in self-defense. But the jury ignored his claims and convicted him of murder.

The youth, who previously pleaded guilty to possessing a kitchen knife used in the incident, is due to be sentenced on June 21.

A statement from Alfie’s family – which was read outside court by his brother Antony Lewis: “Alfie’s family would like to thank West Yorkshire Police for the countless hours of investigative work carried out in bringing this case to court, our specialist connection with the family. Officer Ruth and in particular to the first responders whose immediate actions meant that Alfie’s killer was identified and arrested within an hour of Alfie’s attack.

“We want to thank the medical staff, both at the scene and at the hospital, for their brave efforts in trying to save Alfie’s life. We would like to thank Mr Hassall KC and Katherine Robinson for their skill and commitment in securing justice for Alfie.

“We would like to thank everyone involved, in court and behind the scenes, to ensure that this process continued. We would like to thank the jury for reaching what we feel was a sensible and obvious conclusion that Alfie was not a threat to anyone around him and his death was senseless.

“Our deepest thanks go to all those individuals who rushed to Alfie’s aid after he was attacked, who showed him love, care and compassion and tried to save his life. To all the witnesses who assisted the police and CPS, both children and adults, we have seen and heard the impact Alfie’s killing has had on you and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your courage.

“We would like to thank our family and friends and the wider Horsforth community for their compassion and support and know that Alfie’s bench will bring comfort to much of the community and to many of his friends and their families as it does to us.

“The only justice we would want is for Alfie to come home to his mum and brother and us. Most of all we would like to thank Alfie for giving us all your love, joy and humor and making us smile every day for the 15 years we had to enjoy and we love you. You are always in our hearts and minds and until we are together again, keep dancing in the sky our beautiful boy. We miss you and love you, always.”

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Chief Inspector Stacey Atkinson added: “Alfie was only fifteen and had no involvement in gangs or any other crime that would have put him at risk of knife crime.

“He had simply gone to meet his friends from school and was not looking for a confrontation with anyone. Evidence showed the young man convicted of Alfie’s murder planned and prepared to attack him, taking a kitchen knife from home and waiting until the end of the school day when he knew where he could find it.

“He claimed to have acted in self-defence, but evidence from several eyewitnesses showed that he was the aggressor who launched a deliberate and determined attack by repeatedly stabbing Alfie, who was completely defenseless, leaving mortally wounded him.

“I have heard evidence of previous incidents involving Alfie and the youths but they were of a very minor nature. It is clear that there is nothing to justify the criminal violence he used to end Alfie’s young life. Alfie’s killing took place in a busy street during school hours and was witnessed by several children and members of the public passing by. Understandably, it caused immense shock and concern in the local community.

“It’s a tragedy that illustrates the horrific consequences of knife crime and we can only hope it impresses on young people that it can never be right to carry a knife or use violence to settle your differences.”

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