A 24-year-old man from Coventry was convicted on 12 March 2026 of unlawful wounding and carrying a knife in public following a violent incident in Oxford, Oxfordshire. According to Thames Valley Police, Thomas Mesai Siyoum had previously pleaded guilty to the charges at Oxford Crown Court.
The convictions follow a confrontation on 20 July 2025 on James Wolfe Road, where Siyoum stabbed a man in the right inner leg. A bystander at the scene is credited with saving the victim’s life by using a t-shirt as a makeshift tourniquet to stop the bleeding before emergency services arrived.
While Siyoum admitted to the counts of unlawful wounding and possession of a knife, a jury found him not guilty of the more serious charge of wounding with the intent to cause serious harm (Section 18). Detective Constable Rebekah Routh, who led the investigation, noted the severity of the attack and the importance of the bystander’s quick actions.
Siyoum, of Heath Crescent in Coventry, had previously been arrested and charged in September 2025. He is now due to be sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on 9 April 2026.
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