Residents in Easton and the Stapleton Road area have been discussing the issues facing the neighbourhood.

A public meeting was held yesterday at the Barton Hill Settlement and follows the murder of a local teenager.

18 year old Abdirisak Mohamoud was stabbed in the street on Stapleton Road at a junction with Villiers Road last Thursday night.

So far a total of nine people have been arrested in connection with the incident. Seven have since been released on bail and another without charge.

Local residents met with police officers yesterday to discuss the case and what was being done to find the killer.

Also present at the meeting were local ward councillors Shirley Brown and Susan O'Donnell. They heard the concerns of residents and the calls for more support to bring the community together.

Latif Ismail is the Chair of the Somali Forum in Bristol. He told us there are several issues affecting the area:

"It's very multi-cultural; it's a very lively area and is in a fact a very nice place to be in some parts. However, it also has a lot of issues; anti social behaviour, drug dealing and other crimes take place in the area. What the community is now asking for is a multi-agency approach to do something about it and address those issues. It's not just an issue for police, it's an issue for Bristol, for the council and another agencies and of course the communities who live there. What came out of the meeting is a unified approach to address these problems and find a way forward."

The council is now being asked to help facilitate meetings between the different communities and agencies in the area such as the schools, businesses and the police.

Mr. Ismail went on to say the death of Abdirisak Mohamoud has been a wakeup call for the area that something needs to be done:

"I can see more and more people talking about this and saying 'it's now or never', we need to do something about it. The sad thing is it shouldn't take someone's death for people to come together. The residents in the area knew there were issues, the traders knew and the agencies working in the area knew. It's sad that we have to have this conversation after the death of someone."

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