Group of men sentenced after a man was pushed into a city centre canal and murdered

Earlier this week, four men were sentenced for the part they played in the murder of Ahmed Alshran:

• Mohammed Al-Enizi Hameed (25/07/1987), of Brighton Grove, Rusholme, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum of 24 years in prison. He was sentenced to a further 4 years in prison for section 18 assault.
•  Hussein Muhalhal (01/08/2003), of Lower Park Road, Longsight was found guilty of section 18 assault and sentenced to 5 and a half years. He was ordered to serve two-thirds in custody.
• A 17-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to 13 years in prison and a further two years for section 18 assault.
• A 17-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons was found guilty of section 18 assault and sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison.

Reports of a serious assault came to our attention on Wednesday 16 August 2023, at around 6pm from our colleagues in the Northwest Ambulance Service who said that two men had been stabbed and were seriously injured on Dale Street in Manchester city centre.

When first responders arrived at the scene on Dale Street, two men were found with serious injuries. One of the victims was found with stab wounds to the left side of his chest and Ahmed Alshran was found with a single stab wound to his heart. Ahmed was lying beside the canal after he managed to pull himself out of the water after being pushed in.

One of the injured men made a full recovery in hospital but unfortunately, the 33-year-old victim, later named Ahmed Alshran, passed away from his injuries after spending weeks in intensive care.

An investigation by our Major Incident Team detectives was quickly launched and through CCTV trawls and intelligence from members of the public, officers were able to piece together the events that led up to two men receiving serious injuries.

CCTV captured Hussein Muhalal walking with another man through the city centre before heading on the Rochdale Canal Tow Path off Dale Street at 6.25pm.

They were seen walking further up the canal path to a bench where they joined another group of men.

At the same time, Ahmed went for a coffee with a group of friends, and as they left the café on Ducie they walked towards the entrance to the Rochdale Canal Tow Path on Dale Street.

Ahmed’s group of friends were now on the same canal towpath as the group of men already gathering; violence started to erupt almost immediately after Ahmed and his friends went onto the path.

The words, “Come bring the knife”, “Go get a knife” and “Let’s kill him”, were heard by passersby in the nearby area and then four men were seen running away on the canal towpath. This was later confirmed to have been said by Al-Enizi Hameed.

Mohammed Al Enizi and Hameed Muhalhal were both arrested on Wednesday 23 August 2023 on suspicion of attempted murder.

A 17-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested on 15 November after he was located as a person of interest by officers, he was interviewed and later charged with murder and attempted murder.

Detective Superintendent David Moores said: “On the night of the incident, police and other emergency service colleagues were working incredibly hard to give first aid to the two victims who suffered injuries, and it’s a tragedy that Ahmed Alrhan passed away weeks after the incident after he was fighting for his life in hospital.

“The investigation involved hundreds of hours of CCTV footage carefully looked at and phone records filtered through by officers and I’d like to thank the members of the public who responded to our appeals with information and footage, your assistance has helped us build a timeline of events prior to the incident, and your help has ensured that we got this outcome.

“Our deepest condolences go to Ahmed Alrhan’s family, who over the past year have felt the shockwaves of losing a loved one and we understand that no sentence will ever be enough to reflect the despicable attack that occurred, but I hope the sentence passed brings some comfort to his family in knowing that these four individuals will spend a long time behind bars to think about the consequences of their actions.”

The family of Ahmed Alshran continue to grieve in private for their loss, and speaking after the sentencing, they said: “After the senseless taking of Ahmed’s life, we would like to thank the Investigation Team at Greater Manchester Police together with the CPS who undertook this investigation and brought those responsible for Ahmed’s murder, to face the courts and ultimately justice for their actions.”