James Owusu-Agyekum was a selfless, kind person who we had the pleasure of meeting during our time at school.
We called him the gentle giant, he was funny, kind, friendly and understanding. I remember sitting with him at breaktime, having a casual chat and being down about some marks I got for French (such a nerd, I know). He pipped up with “but you’re good at so many other things!”. That was James all over. Despite his struggles at school, his personality and friendships he made, spoke for itself.
James Owusu-Agyekum died on November 2nd 2016 in front of his mother from four bullet wounds to his back and one to his arm after two gunmen walked past his open door in Harlesden and opened fire. As he lay dying in the arms of his mother, he told her: “Mum, I haven’t done anything to anyone ... I don’t like trouble.” To this day, his killers have not been found.
It was an incredible injustice that was done to an entire family, a valuable friendship lost and a community hurt by the cowardice and hateful actions of two men.
Sella Tsegah, a close family friend said “one thing i would always say about James is that he wanted to make it out for his mother. He wanted to provide a life for her as she is sick. He was a very selfless person”
Natalie Winter, his former teacher said, "I first worked with James when he was 11. I heard he was a challenging boy and when he joined us he did seem to be full of frustration and anger. As months and years went on we saw him grow into a wonderful young man who was inspirational to his peers and an excellent role model to our younger students. James had the most infectious smile and was able to always make me laugh. When James left school we kept in touch and I was privileged to call him a friend. You will never been forgotten James"
Sarah Ellis, another former teacher remembers "James’s big smile more than anything. His smile would make my day & his laugh was infectious. James was kind, caring and honest. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching him and remember him fondly".
Amrit Nangla, a fellow student and friend remembers, "James Owusu had an indescribable essence deep inside him that every person he met, was immediately greeted with love and joy. My name is Amrit Nangla and I grew up with him from our primary school to high school. I was few years above his year and I remembered being so excited about him joining us at school. Every single time when we saw each other, I ALWAYS found a way to hug him without a single fail. I can safely say he wanted to run the opposite direction of me when I approached him with open arms and said “my cute cuddly bear” and watched him saying “I’m not cute!”. He wanted to keep his reputation as a tough badass teenager and he did run away from me a few times! I chased him and hugged him. Every. Single. Time. Seeing his smile and his dagger stare at me, was worth it. I didn’t care because I had loved James since he was a little kid running around playing games with us, his infectious cheeky smile and his hilarious humour. We always had our banter from day one. He was a great student and worked really hard to make his mum proud. We shared many deep conversations about the world. He was very intelligent, he cared about the issues going on in our society. He was indeed a great friend to us all, I miss him."
Priyesh Patel, a fellow student and friend: "Well, I've known James for a good 3 years .. I must say, he was such a loving kind boy who was known by many and surely loved by all. I remember we used to go swimming together during school summer holidays. They were great times and I will never forget him."
Marian Nash, former teacher fondly remembers " James as chivalrous, compassionate and full of humour. He cared for his mother/family, his friends and his ethnic roots. He made the most of any opportunity such as working at the British Museum. I told him he was special, chosen to do the task God set before him. He had so much to offer. His time here was cut short far too soon. He did not waste a moment, but some people plotted and planned to waste him. So sad, so pointless, so sorry it had to be James".
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Incident Room on 020 8785 8244, call police on 101 or tweet information @MetCC.
Crimestoppers can be called anonymously on 0800 555 111 or on the secure online form which can be found at crimestoppers-uk.org
0 comments:
Post a Comment