Jimmy Mizen murder police hunt Turkish teenager

The teenager who is the prime suspect in the murder of 16-year-old Jimmy Mizen is being hunted by police today after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

An all-ports alert has been issued in case the ethnic Turkish suspect attempts to flee the country. There are fears he could attempt to flee to north Cyprus where there is no extradition treaty with the UK.

Detectives have made exhaustive efforts to trace the man, believed to be 19, but failed to find him despite searching several addresses. He is said to be known to the family of Jimmy, who died from a cut to his neck at the Three Cooks Bakery in Lee.

Scotland Yard detectives, who are still trying to establish what happened before he died, refused to comment on the claims for "operational reasons".

Detective Chief Inspector Cliff Lyons said the attack was not gang related, but confirmed that CCTV footage from the scene had revealed a "significant" clue about Jimmy's death. He praised the popular, church-going teenager for showing "great maturity" by not responding to his attacker's "antagonistic actions".

Jimmy was the 13th teenager to be killed in London this year. His family said they had received many tributes to their son, who was attacked as he went to buy his first lottery ticket to celebrate his 16th birthday. He is understood to have been challenged to a fight by his attacker, who then smashed the bakery window, attacking him with a shard of glass. Jimmy's brother Tommy, 26, rushed to try to save his life and cradled him as he lay dying. His mother, Margaret, 55, said: "I would like to have had him in my arms but I'm comforted by the fact he was in my son's arms."

His father, Barry, 56, said he felt sorry for the attacker's parents. "It's so painful that their child has been so cruel and so wicked."

The family yesterday attended a Mass at Jimmy's school, St Thomas More in Eltham.