Mother calls for peace not anger

The mother of a 16-year-old boy murdered in a baker's shop said this afternoon her son was the victim of a culture of anger.

Jimmy Mizen bled to death after he was hit by a glass plate by a youth causing trouble in the Three Cooks bakery in Lee, south London, on Saturday. Jimmy - an altar boy and amateur rugby player who was one of seven brothers and two sisters - is the 13th teenager to die in the capital this year.

Standing arm in arm with her husband Barry, Margaret Mizen, 55, said: "What can I say to the family of the killer? Can you imagine they held that boy in their arms as a baby. It must be very painful to know that he has been so cruel and wicked.

"What can you say to them? People keep asking me why I am not angry but I say it was anger that killed my son. If I was angry I would be the same as this boy. There is too much anger in the world."

Mrs Mizen was speaking after a mass was held for Jimmy at his old school, St Thomas More Comprehensive.

She added: "The service was wonderful, really superb and beautiful. The staff are wonderful and the children are wonderful and their hearts are breaking too." Father Michael Scanlon said: "It was a beautiful mass, it was powerful, it was prayerful and the young people were outstanding."

Jimmy Mizen was described today as a happy-go-lucky boy who loved playing his guitar and rugby in the garden.

In emotional tributes to the 16-year-old, his mother Margaret, said: "Jimmy was a saint. If anyone would go up to heaven then Jimmy would."

She spoke after attending a special mass with husband Barry dedicated to their son at his school, the St Thomas More Catholic Comprehensive near Eltham.

Jimmy, a 6ft 4in amateur rugby player, with six brothers and two sisters, had gone to buy his first Lottery ticket on Saturday when he saw a man arguing with his brother Harry, 18.

He tried to calm the situation but the man turned on him and, picking up a glass plate, smashed it over the teenager's head, cutting his neck. He died the day after his 16th birthday.

His mother, 55, said: "Jimmy was very straight down the line. He was happy-go-lucky and he loved playing his guitar and loved playing rugby in the garden.

"He was 16 years and a day old and I never once told him off."

Mrs Mizen recalled the night of his birthday: "When he was going out with his friends we cuddled him and told him we loved him, and that is a great memory."

She said that he didn't judge people or have bad thoughts about them. Mrs Mizen went on: "His sister, who has Downs Syndrome, recently turned 21, and at her party Jimmy was dancing. He was the life and soul of the party."

Before attending the service they viewed the floral tributes outside the bakery where Jimmy died.

Markus Ryan, the head of the school, said: "He was a very well liked, gentle student who always did his best. The school community is extremely shocked and saddened.

"Jimmy comes from a large loving Catholic family. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jimmy and his family." His comments came as police revealed that a witness who was in the Three Cooks bakery in Lee at the time of the attack had come forward. The middle-aged man was able to give crucial information.

Police are also believed to have seized CCTV evidence from cameras on local shops.

Jimmy suffered the neck wound after being challenged to a fight in an unprovoked attack. He died within minutes in the arms of his elder brother Tommy, 26, who ran to the bakery near their home on hearing of the assault.

The death brings the number of teenagers killed in London this year to 13.

Today Jimmy's family and friends told how he had previously stepped in to try to protect friends from being robbed. Mr Mizen, 56, who runs the family shoe repair business, said Jimmy had been robbed twice - for his iPod and phone.

A 16-year-old friend who saw the second robbery said: "A couple of boys threatened him as they demanded his phone. He didn't want any trouble so he handed it over."

It is not believed the murder is related to the muggings but police are following "several lines of inquiry".

Another friend, a boy aged 15, said Jimmy stepped in as two youths cornered him. The friend said: "There's been at least two occasions where I've been cornered by kids who've been trying to steal things.

"At KFC and also at the bus stop when Jimmy stepped in to protect me, but not with his fists, he just tried to reason with them. But it just meant they started on him, but that was the kind of guy he was."

Mr Mizen said: "You worry about them at night but not at lunchtime going to a bakery."

Mrs Mizen was in tears as she added: "People need to find peace not anger. My faith is helping me and my family."

She said of Jimmy: "He did a two-week work experience with Southwark Council. They were so impressed with him they set up a two year apprenticeship just for him."

A teenager pleaded "help me, I've been stabbed" before collapsing in a pool of blood after he was knifed in a brawl in Whittington Park, Holloway. He was one of two youths, aged 15 and 16, knifed in a scuffle. Witnesses said they had been enjoying the heatwave when the trouble erupted. The older youth was stabbed in the stomach and was in a serious condition today. The second was stable.