The man who “hunted down” and killed an Islington 16-year-old in Camden as part of a gang attack will spend 21 years behind bars.
Arif Biomy, 19, was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Old Bailey on Thursday for the murder of Alex Smith, who was stabbed to death in Munster Square in August.
The murder was a 'tit-for-tat' retaliatory attack following a dispute between Camden gangs from the Regent's Park and Agar Grove estates.
Alex grew up near Holloway Road and went to school in Tufnell Park, but was living in Wembley at the time he was killed.
The knife used to stab him was described by judge Jeremy Donne as a 'short sword'.
Addressing Biomy he said: 'On the evening of August 12 last year you and five other young men took part in what is being described by the prosecution as the latest in a series of tit-for-tat attacks between gangs in the Camden area of London.
'The victim was a 16-year-old youth, a child, Alex Smith.
'He himself sadly had been involved with gangs in some way which is why he was your target.
'The motivation for the attack on Alex Smith clearly was the fact that you yourself had been stabbed some months before.'
In December 2017 Biomy was stabbed four times and last May he was stabbed in St Pancras Way, nearly losing his life - an attack which he used as 'payback' on Alex, the prosecution argued.
Judy Khan, representing Biomy, claimed her client's young age as a 19-year-old, his ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and low IQ lessened his culpability for murder.
Biomy, of Wickham Lane, Plumstead, had 21 previous convictions for 51 offences.
After Alex was killed, Biomy was later filmed 'high on drugs' in a hotel room, which the judge said showed a lack of 'care'.
Alex's mother paid tribute to her son, saying: 'Although you are not here you are always in our hearts. I will never forget you my little angel.'
Yusuf Yusuf, 19, of Sandwell Crescent, West Hampstead, was handed a prison sentence of two years and 10 months for assisting an offender by setting alight two of the cars used in the attack, with the aim of destroying evidence.
Police continue to investigate Alex's murder with four remaining suspects.
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