Police seek teens in Belfast murder inquiry

Detectives hunting the killers of a 15-year-old schoolboy want to question two teenagers in connection with the murder, it emerged…

Detectives hunting the killers of a 15-year-old schoolboy want to question two teenagers in connection with the murder, it emerged tonight.

Thomas Devlin was stabbed five times in the back as he walked home in north Belfast with two friends after a visit to a local garage to buy sweets.

The motiveless attack sent shockwaves through the affluent Somerton Road area where he lived and which had largely escaped the violence of neighbouring areas.

Police tonight confirmed they want speak to two teenagers who were in the vicinity of the Fort William Service Station on Antrim Road and on Somerton Park, a short time before Thomas was attacked.

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The pair were in the area, possibly with two other youths, around 11pm on August 10th.

One of the teenagers was wearing a blue and white polo shirt while the other was wearing white shorts.

A PSNI spokeswoman said: "Police have not been contacted by these males and are urging them to come forward."

It is understood the youths were not suspects but may have information that can advance the inquiry.

One of Thomas's friends was also injured by a single stab wound when they were approached by two males, believed to be in their late teens or early 20s, who had a dog with them.

Two men and a juvenile were arrested following the murder but released without charge.

The teenager's parents, Jim and Penny, were joined by dozens of Belfast Royal Academy pupils for his funeral service on Wednesday.

Father Sean Emerson told mourners that the brutal and senseless murder of the talented musician had forced people to question what was wrong with society in Northern Ireland .