Brothers jailed for killing boy, 16, in car attack

Two brothers have been jailed for killing an innocent 16-year-old boy in a botched revenge attack.

Abdullah Yaser Abdullah Taleb was "in the wrong place at the wrong time" when he was fatally injured by an Audi S3 being driven on the pavement by 21-year-old Zulkernain Ahmed in Sheffield on 4 June 2025.

Zulkernain was jailed for life with a 30-year minimum for murder at Sheffield Crown Court, while his brother Armaan Ahmed, 27, who was a passenger in the car, received a 17-year sentence for manslaughter.

The brothers, of Locke Drive in Darnall, were convicted by a jury after a trial earlier this year. Judge Mrs Justice Amanda Tipples described Abdullah's death as "senseless and shocking".

During the brothers' trial, jurors were told how the pair had been deliberately targeting a group of three riders in Staniforth Road in Darnall - two on e-bikes and one on a moped - when the car ploughed into Abdullah.

The dispute was said to have stemmed from the theft of e-bikes and subsequent threats allegedly made to Zulkernain Ahmed by another man, La'Rome Divers, who the court heard refused to cooperate with a police investigation.

Zulkernain told officers he took action after Divers had made threats to kill him and his family.

According to the defendant, the pair had fallen out after Divers sided against him in a dispute over an e-bike stolen from Zulkernain at knifepoint, which he had subsequently taken back.

The brothers had been in the car with their older sibling, Zain, who remains at large, and Adam Mohammed, who was cleared of all charges by a jury.

Prosecutors said Abdullah, who had arrived in England from Yemen two months previously and was due to start college later that year, was "in the wrong place at the wrong time".

• As it happened: Brothers jailed for killing teenage passer-by in e-bike theft revenge attack

According to Det Ch Insp Benjamin Wood from South Yorkshire Police, who led the investigation, the teenager was a "totally innocent 16-year-old boy" who had been out buying lunch.

The jury was told Zulkernain Ahmed had used the car as a "weapon" as he targeted Divers and the other riders.

Video footage showed his car moving to the wrong side of the road and knocking Divers over a hedge before continuing forward and hitting Abdullah.

Moments earlier the youngster could be seen throwing and catching a water bottle as he walked along the pavement.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Abdullah's father, Yaser Abdullah Al Yazidi, said he was "both my son and my friend", adding: "His death was a devastating blow to all of the family members."

The loss had "destroyed the entire family", he added, telling the court how he had moved the family to the UK for their safety and a better life.

"We are unable to return to our normal lives and I don't think we ever will."

According to his father, Abdullah had been "excited" to be starting college in September 2025.

Wood said CCTV footage of Abdullah showed he "looks like he's not got a care in the world" when he was captured moments before he was killed.

"It's absolutely tragic. He's got no involvement with [the dispute] whatsoever."

Thursday's hearing was told the brothers drove to the Port of Dover after the incident with £2,090 in cash and had planned to flee to Turkey, where they could not be extradited back to the UK.

They were arrested just after midnight the following day.

In mitigation, Zulkernain Ahmed said he was "sorry from the bottom of my heart".

In a letter read out to the court, he wrote: "I regret the actions I took that day, I wish time to turn back. I would change so many things."

The court was also told how Armaan Ahmed, a married father of one with no previous convictions, had written a "carefully and sensitively worded" letter which "demonstrates remorse on his part", according to his barrister, Mark McKone KC.

Mrs Justice Tipple told the court: "Abdullah Yaser Abdullah Taleb was an optimistic person who loved life and loved people.

"He was always smiling, adored by his family and loved by everyone.

"He was eager to learn and to integrate into the community. He was excited to join college in September and he had his whole life ahead of him."

Zulkernain Ahmed was also found guilty of two counts of GBH with intent and another count of attempting to cause GBH with intent, with each sentence to be served concurrently.

Armaan Ahmed, who had been working as a civil servant at the Home Office in Sheffield when he committed the offence, was convicted of an additional charge of GBH, for which he received a sentence of three years and nine months, to be served concurrently.

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