Aderahman Boumzough, 25, was sentenced to 35 years and 169 days at Woolwich Crown Court after being found guilty of the London murder of teenager Rene Graham and the attempted murder of another man
A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment following the “callous and cold-blooded” murder of a 15-year-old boy in a children’s play area during a family music festival at a park in London.
Aderahman Boumzough, 25, of no fixed abode, was handed a sentence of 35 years and 169 days at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday after being convicted of the murder of Rene Graham and the attempted murder of another man.
Over a year elapsed before Boumzough was apprehended and charged. Police were summoned to Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance Park in Ladbroke Grove, west London, around 7.20pm on July 21, 2024.
CCTV footage depicted Boumzough coolly approaching the children’s play area during a family music festival before discharging a single shot.
Additional footage showed him pursuing and attempting to shoot a man, but the firearm jammed and he made his escape.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Simon James stated that Rene was merely 15 and “should have had his whole life to realise his dreams and aspirations”, adding that it is “impossible not to be moved” hearing his family attempt to articulate their profound sorrow.
The judge said Rene’s mother, father and aunt all eloquently conveyed “the agony of every parent’s worst nightmare”, adding: “I can do no more than echo Rene’s mother’s words that no mother should ever have to stand in a court and speak about the violent death of her son.”
He continued: “Her and the rest of Rene’s family’s heartbreak, shock, anger, and the emotional pain of being robbed of the opportunity of seeing Rene grow into a man, were caused by your callous and cold-blooded conduct in gunning down and killing an unarmed and defenceless teenager in what amounted to a premeditated public execution.”
He stated that Boumzough has failed to offer any explanation or motive for “such extreme and gratuitous public violence”, and failed to show “even a flicker of remorse”.
The judge mentioned that a video clip discovered on his phone showed he was actually “proud and boastful” about his crimes.
The footage was of him seemingly rapping about the firearm jamming, including him saying: “Don’t you hate it when your ting jams? I was prepared to take a soul, but Allah had a different plan.”
The judge informed Boumzough his sentence is imprisonment for life with a minimum term of 35 years and 169 days.
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