Herts Police have issued a statement to reassure people living in North Herts after the murder of Bereket Selomun in Stevenage.

The body of 20 year old Selomun was found shortly before 7.30am on Thursday, July 7 in woodland off Brittain Way, near Fairlands Valley Park. He had suffered multiple stab wounds.

The move comes after Selomun became the second. youngster to lose his life through violent knife crime in the area, following the murder of Kajetan Migdal, who was killed after attending his Stevenage prom in late May.

In a message to the town's community, Chief Inspector for Stevenage, Graeme Walsingham said: "I would like to reassure residents that we take knife crime extremely seriously in Stevenage.

"My teams are working hard to tackle this issue, not just by acting on intelligence and proactively making arrests, or carrying out regular stops and searching for weapons, but by taking a preventive approach aimed at steering young people away from knife crime.

"We currently have Op EDUC8 running. This special project has seen us working in partnership with key organisations and delivering hard hitting and emotional presentations to year 7 and 8 pupils in every school in Stevenage, by a variety of key speakers. Knife and gang crime has already been covered and we aim to deliver these presentations every year. 

"My Safer Neighbourhood officers have also been visiting primary schools to talk about personal safety including knife carrying and we regularly work with the Schools and Gangs Team and Stevenage Borough Council's 'No More' project - helping children at risk of becoming involved in knife crime.

"We are always acting on information provided by local residents, and I am grateful to the local community who continue to support us." 

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Five men have now been charged following the killing of Selomun in Stevenage.

The five men charged with murder are:

·      Jelani Omer, aged 23, of Plash Drive, Stevenage.

·      Robel Msgane, aged 23, of no fixed abode.

·      Malake Fiseha, aged 23, of Manor View, Stevenage.

·      Temesgen Gebremedhin, aged 20, of Bedwell Crescent, Stevenage.

·      Natnael Hadgu, aged 18, of Ripon Road, Stevenage.

A further man was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and has been released under investigation while enquiries continue.

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A friend and colleague of Bereket, Agnieszka Peda, has set up a fundraising page here to help pay for burial costs.