Teenager jailed for life after vape shop murder as he taunts victim’s family in court

A 19-year-old man convicted of murdering a 17-year-old in a vape shop shouted at the victim’s family as he was jailed for life, a court heard Monday.

Abdurrahman Summers yelled “I'm still breathing” in Birmingham Crown Court after a judge told him he would serve a minimum of 19 years for the fatal stabbing of Reuben Higgins. Summers and two 16-year-old boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were found guilty of murder following a trial earlier this year.

The court heard that on the evening of Oct. 29 last year, Reuben was confronted by a group of four outside the Vape Minimarket in Marston Green, Solihull, shortly after 6 p.m. Prosecutors said the group accused him of having threatened one of them on a previous occasion, a claim the judge said was unsupported by evidence. Reuben refused to go with them, at which point the group reached for their waistbands and chased him.

CCTV footage played at trial showed Reuben trying to hide inside the shop and using his body to barricade the door before the attackers forced their way in and launched a knife attack. He sustained a fatal 15cm wound to the heart, two further stab wounds to the thigh and one to the arm. Moments after he was stabbed, Reuben told a shop worker, “Call an ambulance, I'm dying.” Paramedics arrived but he died at the scene from catastrophic blood loss.

Summers, who was 18 at the time of the killing, had earlier expressed outrage when the jury returned guilty verdicts, shouting that he was “f***ing innocent,” the court heard. He has previous convictions for six robberies and one count of possessing a knife. Summers purchased a bus ticket to Spain after the killing but subsequently handed himself in, prosecutors said.

The two 16-year-olds were sentenced to life with minimum terms of 17 years and 15 years respectively. The court was told one of the youths carried out stabbings to Reuben’s arm and leg, while the other assisted and encouraged the attack. Talbir Singh KC and Anand Beharrylal KC, representing the two minors, described difficult and unstable upbringings and told the court their clients had been influenced by older peers. One of the 16-year-olds has a history of convictions for robbery-related offences, some involving knives.

Judge Paul Farrer KC, delivering sentences, said Reuben was vulnerable because of his age and circumstances, noting that he was unarmed, did not want trouble and had been trying to back away. By contrast, the judge said, the defendants had been armed and had gone out prepared for trouble.

Prosecutor Richard Atkins KC told the court the group had “hunted him down and killed him.” Following sentencing, Detective Inspector Michelle Cordell of West Midlands Police described the attack as “cowardly and sickening” and said it had “had a devastating and lifelong impact on Reuben’s family, friends and loved ones.” She said the search for the fourth suspect, believed to have initiated the confrontation and to have inflicted the fatal blow after fleeing to Pakistan, was ongoing.

Reuben’s family made emotional statements in court. His father, Dominic Higgins, described his son as his “precious, beautiful boy,” and said his world had “fell apart” since Reuben’s death. Reuben’s mother, Sarah Cooke, called him “my best friend,” while his stepmother, Polly Hudson, urged an end to youth violence, telling the court: “Young men killing young men has to stop.”

In mitigation, lawyers for the convicted minors highlighted troubled childhoods, instances of abuse and, in one case, neurodevelopmental conditions that they said increased susceptibility to coercion and exploitation. Gregory Bull KC, mitigating for Summers, said his client was “immature” and noted a difficult upbringing, while also acknowledging Summers had prior convictions.

A media application to name the two 16-year-olds was refused by Judge Farrer, who said public identification would likely harm their welfare and rehabilitation and that naming them was “not in the interests of justice.”

West Midlands Police said they would continue to pursue the outstanding suspect and urged anyone with information to come forward. The sentences bring to a close a case that highlighted concerns about knife crime involving young people in the West Midlands and prompted expressions of grief and calls for action from family and community members.

The Crown Prosecution Service and police will continue to monitor developments as inquiries into the circumstances of the attack and the whereabouts of the suspect who fled the country remain under way.