THE mother of a computer analyst who was stabbed to death in the Birmingham riots wept yesterday as she talked about her gentle and deeply religious son who, she believes, was singled out by his attackers because he was not streetwise.

Isaiah Young-Sam, 24, was jumped by a gang of up to 11 Asian men as he returned to his family home in the Lozells district of the city after going to the cinema.

The devout Christian, who was only 5ft 4in tall, was stabbed in the heart just 200 yards from his home.

Police said that he was an entirely “innocent victim” who was unwittingly caught up in the riots.

Cars were torched and shops looted in two days of rioting as young West Indians and Asians waged running battles throughout the Lozells area.

The riots were triggered after a rumour spread that an Afro-Caribbean girl had been gangraped by 19 Pakistani man.

Police were also investigating last night whether the shooting of a mixed-race 18-year-old man yesterday morning about a mile away was connected to the troubles.

Murna McLean, Mr Young-Sam’s mother, said her son’s that she had lost “the diamond in our family”.

She said he was dedicated to his career as an IT analyst with Birmingham City Council and read a chapter of the Bible every morning.

She said: “He had very good manners in a slightly old-fashioned way. He was gentle and would hold open a door or help someone with their shopping.

“He was a private person, deeply religious and reserved. He didn’t have the lifestyle of a typical black young man in Lozells. He wasn’t out on the streets or at parties — he didn’t even have a steady girlfriend.

“If someone had tried to drag him into an argument, he would have laughed and walked away.” Mrs McLean said that Isaiah had been promoted earlier this year and was taking on more responsibility after working for four years as an IT troubleshooter at the council’s Waterlinks House in Nechells.

She believes that he became an innocent victim because he simply wasn’t streetwise.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Science News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• The fourth plinth art project: famous for 60 minutes
• Rubik has a new puzzle to irritate the nation
• Is it Radio 4 or Radio Bore?