NINETEEN

don't
die
before
you've
lived

This is 17-year-old Sylvester Akapalara, the nineteenth teenager to be murdered in London this year.

His death follows that of a 15-year-old boy on Christmas Day. The identity of that youth has yet to be released by police.

Akapalara - a Sierra Leonian national - was shot in Peckham, south London, on Wednesday. Sodiq Adeojo, 18, and an unnamed 17-year-old male have been charged with his murder.

Note: Don't Die Before You've Lived is a series of ongoing entries recording the murders of teenagers in London. Although not necessarily GBLT-related, the desperately premature loss of these young boys deserves our full attention. Take a minute, read the names, look at their faces, and spare a thought for these kids who really did die before they lived. ka-os|theory is a London-based blog.