Man convicted of murder and attempted murder in Hartlepool

A man has been found guilty of stabbing a 70-year-old man to death in the street shortly after he had attempted to kill his own housemate.

Ahmed Alid, 45, armed himself with two knives in the early hours of Sunday, 15 October 2023, and broke into the bedroom of his sleeping housemate.

The housemate was stabbed six times in the chest, legs and mouth by Alid, a Moroccan national, who shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack at the house shared by four fellow asylum seekers in Wharton Terrace, Hartlepool.

Alid had previously behaved threateningly towards the housemate, having established that he had converted to Christianity.

In the darkness, the housemate could not find the door handle to escape but managed to fight off Alid and disarm him during the attack.

Upon hearing shouts for help, another housemate came to assist, and Alid was forced out of the bedroom.

After retrieving one of the knives, Alid then left the property and walked towards Hartlepool town centre.

CCTV footage showed Alid walking past Mr Carney on one side of the road before circling around to approach him from behind.

Mr Carney then turned to face Alid before being pushed to the ground and attacked with the knife. He was stabbed six times to the chest, abdomen and back.

At 5.40am, Mr Carney was found by police officers on their way to the incident at Wharton Terrace, and despite attempts to help him, he was pronounced dead shortly after 6am.

In police interview, Alid admitted the murder of Mr Carney and the attempted murder of his housemate and stated he had committed the acts for revenge because Israel had killed innocent children.

He added that if he had had a machine gun, and more weapons, he would have killed more victims.

He described Mr Carney as an innocent victim, who he killed because Britain had created the Zionist entity (Israel).

At the end of the interview, which was conducted by two female detectives, Alid assaulted the officers, with one suffering an injury to her left shoulder and left wrist.

During the trial, the prosecution was able to prove that Alid intended to kill the two victims by stabbing them with a knife.

The prosecution did not have to prove motive, however there was evidence, from what Alid said in interview, that he wanted to kill because of the conflict in Gaza and to further his desire that Palestine would be free from the Zionists - by which he meant Israel.

At Teeside Crown Court today, Alid was found guilty of murder, attempted murder and two counts of assaulting an emergency worker. He will be sentenced on 17 May. 

The matter of whether Alid’s actions had a terrorist connection will be decided by the judge at sentencing. 

Nick Price, Head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “This was a horrific attack which rightly sent shockwaves through the community in Hartlepool.

“By his own admission, Ahmed Alid would have killed more people on that day if he had been able to.

“Whatever his views were on the conflict in Gaza, this was a man who chose to attack two innocent people with a knife, and the consequences were devastating.

“Our thoughts remain with the attempted murder victim, and with the family and friends of Mr Carney. I hope these verdicts provide some comfort and reassurance that this man has been brought to justice.

“We also recognise the seriousness of assaults on police officers who serve the public. They should be able to do their jobs without being subjected to such assaults.”