A teenager has appeared in court charged with murdering a 15-year-old Eritrean refugee who dreamed of becoming a doctor, an engineer or a basketball player.
The 14-year-old allegedly stabbed Amen Teklay with a knife in Glasgow’s Maryhill on March 5, 2025.
And another 15-year-old faces a separate assault charge related to Amen’s death.
The two made no plea yesterday at a private hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
Lawyers Paul Sweeney and Tina McGreevy represented the boys, respectively.
The boy accused of murder was remanded in custody while the other was granted bail by Sheriff Jonathan Guy.
Members of the local community gathered at the weekend for a vigil to honour ‘bright’ Amen.
Crowds wept in his memory and wore T-shirts which read ‘Forever 15, Amen’.
Amen Teklay, 15, was fatally stabbed in Glasgow’s Maryhill on March 5, 2025
A teenager has appeared in court charged with Amen’s murder
People attend a vigil on Danes Drive Park in Glasgow for Amen
Flowers were laid and balloons were released into the sky as the group remembered the ‘sweet’ young boy.
Amen was found suffering fatal injuries on Clarendon Street in Glasgow at around 10.30pm on Wednesday.
Emergency services battled to save the schoolboy, from Knightswood, but he tragically died at the scene.
The teenager, who was originally from Eritrea, had recently been granted ‘right to remain’ status in the UK.
Leading tributes to Amen was his 17-year-old sister, Delina Teklay, 17, who said: ‘He was not just my brother, he was my best friend.’
She remembered her brother as ‘a really sweet person, so kind and so bright.’
Delina revealed the family were Eritrean refugees and Amen had hoped to gain UK citizenship and had big dreams for the future, hoping to become either a basketball player, a doctor or an engineer.
‘This was very unexpected and shocking for us. I just think this is a dream and I’m going to wake up tomorrow. I’m still in denial,’ she said.
Members of the local community gathered to honour ‘bright’ Amen last Wednesday
Crowds wept in his memory and wore T-shirts which read ‘Forever 15, Amen’
Flowers were laid and balloons were released into the sky as the group remembered the ‘sweet’ young boy
‘My dad is devastated. He’s not eating at all or drinking anything. We’re all devastated, it’s shocking.’
Jamie O’Neill, Amen’s support worker at community centre Kingsway Community Connections, said: ‘The last few days have been a mixture of grief and numbness and people sharing stories of happiness when they speak about Amen.
‘His young friends at school were wondering what they could do and came up with the idea that they should hold a vigil.
‘It’s their way to pay tribute to their friend, come together and support each other.’
Amen attended St Thomas Aquinas secondary school in Jordanhill. Claire McInally, said the boy’s death was a ‘shock to the school community’.
Ms McInally added: ‘Amen was a friendly and much-loved young man who was really interested in music and the media. He was bright and showed great promise.’
