Kiyan Prince

Kiyan Prince
Born	(1990-11-25)25 November 1990
Died	18 May 2006(2006-05-18) (aged 15) Edgware, Barnet, London, England
Cause of death	Stabbing
Nationality	English
Education	London Academy

Kiyan Prince (25 November 1990 – 18 May 2006) was a 15-year-old British boy who attended the London Academy in Edgware, in the London borough of Barnet. He was fatally stabbed on 18 May 2006, receiving a single lethal knife wound, while intervening to prevent the bullying of another boy. Described as "an outstanding and upstanding boy", Prince was a prodigious footballing talent, and represented the Queens Park Rangers youth football team.

Murder

According to the Metropolitan Police, Kiyan Prince was involved in an altercation with another boy shortly before the stabbing. Prince was found at 15.35 BST by a sergeant from a local Safer Neighbourhood police team, and he was transferred by air to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel before being pronounced dead two hours later.

Response

The then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, in response to the killing, said that he would seek to encourage the Home Secretary and the Lord Chancellor to impose maximum imprisonment sentences for those who carry knives. In addition to this, a Violent Crime Reduction Bill was formulated, that increased the age at which a person can purchase a knife from 16 to 18. The bill was passed into law in 2006.

A 16-year-old Somali youth was charged with Prince's murder on 20 May 2006 and remanded in custody. The conviction of Hannad Hasan for the murder of Kiyan Prince was reported on 2 July 2007. Hasan claimed that he carried the large pocket knife "like a toy". It was not revealed to the jury that a few days prior to Prince's stabbing, Hasan had used the knife to threaten a schoolgirl on a bus during an argument.

The Kiyan Prince Foundation

Spurred by this personal tragedy, Prince's father, former boxer (and ex-International IBF and WBO Champion) Mark Prince, founded the Kiyan Prince Foundation (KPF) in early 2007. It is a not-for-profit organization that is committed to using Kiyan's legacy to combat knife crime and other forms of youth violence. Its mission is to:

"work with young people to increase awareness and address the consequences of gun and knife crime through education. It aims to empower young people by promoting a sense of belonging, self-worth and purpose that can be found outside of gang culture and offending behaviour through providing access to diversionary and preventative activities".

On 7 June 2019, following nominations and a fan vote from a shortlist, it was announced that the Loftus Road stadium would be renamed the 'Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium'.

Football career

Prince playing for Queens Park Rangers

Queens Park Rangers signed him as a youth player in 2004.

He was described as a prodigious talent, and was to due to collect an award for his talents shortly after his death .

The club paid tribute to Prince, whom they signed in 2004, and later revealed they planned to sign as a professional. The first team coach at the time, Gary Waddock, said: "The whole club is mourning the loss of one of our own. We are all devastated. Kiyan was certainly one for the future, a very talented lad who wanted to forge a career in football."

In memory of Prince, QPR established an annual award called the "Kiyan Prince Goal of the Season", which is awarded to the player who scores QPR's best goal of each season.

External links

• "A torrent of grief for Kiyan, the boy with a heart of gold", Daily Telegraph, 20 May 2006
• "The Kiyan Prince Foundation"