Killer teens caged for vape shop stabbing murder

Three knife-obsessed teens who hunted down and slaughtered schoolboy Reuben Higgins in a vape shop have been jailed for life after a brutal and merciless attack

Three teenagers have been jailed for life for the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Reuben Higgins, who was hunted down and killed after being chased into a vape shop in Marston Green.

The attack took place on the evening of 29 October last year after Higgins and his friends were confronted in Station Road by a group of four males. When challenged over an allegation he had previously threatened one of them with a knife – an accusation for which there was no evidence – Higgins refused to accompany them elsewhere. The group then reached towards their waistbands and pursued him.

In an attempt to escape, Higgins ran into Vape Minimarket and crouched behind the front door to block entry. His pursuers forced their way inside and launched a frenzied assault. He was stabbed multiple times, including a fatal wound to the heart, and died at the scene.

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At Birmingham Crown Court, Abdurrahman Summers, aged 19 and from Yardley, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 19 years. Two 16-year-old accomplices, who cannot be named because of reporting restrictions, received minimum terms of 17 and 15 years respectively. A fourth suspect, believed to have initiated the confrontation and delivered the fatal blow, remains at large and is thought to have fled the country.

Summers, who had previous convictions for six robberies and possession of a knife, reacted with hostility in court. Upon sentencing he shouted, “I’m still breathing” in the direction of Higgins’s family, echoing his earlier courtroom outburst at conviction when he claimed to be innocent. He was said to have purchased a bus ticket to Spain after the killing, only later handing himself in.

The court heard that one of the 16-year-olds had a record of robbery and attempted robbery offences involving knives, while the other had a conviction for theft described by the judge as “perilously close” to robbery. Both were said to have had troubled backgrounds, with references made to unstable upbringings, physical abuse, neurodevelopmental conditions, and negative peer influences. Defence counsel argued that the youths were immature, susceptible to coercion, and under the influence of older associates.

Mr Justice Paul Farrer KC, passing sentence, concluded that Higgins had been vulnerable due to his age and circumstances, and that he was clearly attempting to avoid confrontation. In contrast, the defendants were armed and “went out prepared for trouble”. Prosecutor Richard Atkins KC told the jury during trial that the group had “hunted him down and killed him”.