In August 2024, 22-year-old scaffolder Chas Corrigan stabbed 20-year-old Saudi student Mohammed Algasim outside student accommodation in Cambridge, killing him in an unprovoked attack fueled by alcohol and cocaine. Corrigan was sentenced to 22 and a half years, with the judge rejecting his claim of self-defence after a jury convicted him in just two hours, according to court proceedings.

The 55,008 data point that gave the Algasim family's warning weight

Mohammed Algasim's uncle, Majed Abalkhail, told reporters two days after the murder that many people in the UK and abroad had expressed growing concerns about a rise in violent crime. "We believe the country is no longer a safe destination for students or tourists," he said. That warning is grounded in official figures: as reported by the Office for National Statistics in August 2024, knife crime in England and Wales jumped four percent to 55,008 incidents recorded by police in the previous 12 months.. The same data showed that the proportion of repeat knife offenders handed jail terms had fallen by five percent, despite a "two strikes and you're out" law.

Two hours to convict , 22 years to consider: the judge's reasoning

Corrigan claimed in court that he carried the kitchen knife for protection after being attacked previously, and that he lashed out because he thought his victim was going to hurt him. But the jury took just two hours to reject that defence and convict him of murder. Jailing Corrigan for 22-and-a-half years, Mr Justice Dexter Dias KC dismissed the defendant's claims of self-preservation, noting that Corrigan had two opportunities to walk away. "Perhaps no one will ever understand why Chas Corrigan did what he did," the judge said, describing the violence as "senseless" and fueled by alcohol, cocaine, and anger.

Online marketplaces and the kitchen knife that never should have been on the street

Knife crime prevention charity The Ben Kinsella Trust, whose chief executive Patrick Green commented on the case, warned that knives have become far too easy for young people to access, especially thrrough online marketplaces where weak safeguards and legal loopholes enable dangerous weapons to be purchased with little effort. The 55,008 figure from the ONS, Green argued, is directly linked to this ease of access. The CCTV of the attack played at Cambridge Crown Court showed Corrigan approaching Algasim at about 11:30 pm on August 1, 2024, wearing a high-visibility jacket, then stabbing him in the neck with a large kitchen knife before walking away.

A father's impact statement: 'I prepared him for life, not for death'

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mohammed's father Yousef described the devastation of losing his gentle son, who had four older sisters and was studying at an English language camp in Cambridge for his third summer. "I devoted many years of love, effort and significant resources to Mohammed's upbringing and education with the hope that he would become a successful engineer," he said. "I prepared him for life, not for death." The father added that his wife now "lives as though without a soul," holding on only to memories of their son's laughter and voice.. The family's grief, as reported by the court, underscores the human toll behind the national knife crime statistics.