A 45-year-old man has been found guilty of murdering a complete stranger, telling police he wanted to kill people because of the conflict in Gaza.
A court heard that Ahmed Alid told detectives that he wanted “Palestine to be free from the Zionists” and that he had killed “because Israel was killing children”. In interviews, he said that if he had had a machine gun or more weapons, he would have killed more people.
A jury on Thursday found Alid guilty of murdering Terence Carney, 70, on the streets of County Durham’s Hartlepool in October 2023.
He was also found guilty of the attempted murder of a housemate, Javed Nouri, 32, who Alid repeatedly stabbed after barging into his bedroom.
Nouri had converted from Islam to Christianity and Alid regarded him as an apostate, prosecutors said.
During his trial at Teesside crown court in Middlesbrough Alid admitted stabbing the men but claimed he had not intended to kill either of them and had “lost his mind” after a buildup of stress.
A jury on Thursday found Alid guilty of murder, attempted murder and two charges of assaulting police officers.
The court previously heard that Alid was born in Morocco and then moved with his family to Algeria. He left Algeria, the jury heard, because of harassment from the authorities and had been moving around Europe for years, including 13 years in Germany where he had unsuccessfully applied for asylum.
After arriving at Teesport on a ferry from the Netherlands, Alid claimed asylum. He was housed with other asylum seekers at a shared house in Hartlepool.
The offences took place eight days after Hamas launched their attacks on Israel.
In an interview, asked about the attack on Nouri, Alid said in Arabic: “I swear to almighty Allah, if I had a heavy weapon, this would be thousands because they had killed innocent children.
“I swear to almighty Allah, if I had a Kalashnikov, I will use it to kill them to the last bullet, today before tomorrow.”
He said if there was no ceasefire in Israel and Gaza “there will be a flood of innocent victims here in Britain”.
In a statement, the family of Carney, the murder victim, said they would not want anyone to go through what they had “and what we will continue to go through for the rest of our lives. For us, things will never be the same again”.
They paid special thanks to Alid’s three housemates, including Nouri.
They added: “What they themselves endured that night was truly horrific, they believed they too were going to die. Despite this, they fully assisted the police with their inquiries and gave their evidence in court, which is testament to their characters.
“These three men were the voice of our loved one, when he was unable to speak out for himself. For this we will for ever be grateful to them.
“We have watched the whole trial intently, and whilst today’s guilty verdict will not bring back Terence our beloved husband, father, and grandfather, we can take some small comfort in knowing that justice has been served.”
Speaking after the verdicts DCS James Dunkerley, the head of counter terrorism policing north east, called Alid’s attacks “unprovoked and deeply disturbing”.
He added: “I have no doubt that the swift response of the attending officers prevented further harm or loss of life that morning. We’re grateful for their bravery in the face of a dangerous and unpredictable suspect.
“I’d also like to thank the people of Hartlepool for their calm and measured response to that day’s events and for the resilience they showed in the weeks that followed.”
The judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, said she would sentence Alid on 17 May.
