THE trial of the man accused of murdering Liam Gall in an attack in Redditch town centre opened at Worcester Crown Court on Tuesday.

Stephen Coward QC, prosecuting, told the court Omar Mohammed, of Lodge Road, Redditch, was seen using a knife on Gall in a scuffle in an alleyway on Wednesday, September 20.

Mohammed fled the scene and told his stepbrother he had been attacked but made no mention of the knife, the court heard.

He was later singled out at Redditch Police Station by one of Gall's companions and only then claimed Gall had pulled the knife on him.

"He had the knife. I had to grab it. It was him or me. What was I supposed to do?" Mohammed told police.

Gall was stabbed twice in the attack at about 7pm.

He suffered a fatal abdominal wound and was also stabbed through the left arm with such force the blade came out the other side.

He died in hospital that night.

The defendant had pulled a knife on one of Gall's friends two days earlier, the court heard.

The friend, who can not be named for legal reasons, told the jury Mohammed had threatened to ''carve him up'' before pulling a knife out from under his jacket during a row over stolen goods.

Mohammed had offered to buy a stolen Adidas jumper from the youngster if he and his friend, Danny Baker, would steal computer items for him from Staples.

When Baker refused to hand over the goods to Mohammed's friend, Anthony Lee, 23, also known as Gadaffi, Lee snatched them and fled, leaving Mohammed and the angry youngster.

When the witness accused Mohammed of setting him up, he said the defendant threatened him with a knife.

Mr Coward said Baker and the youngster told their friend Gall about the incident after returning home and the three returned to the Kingfisher Centre the next day to look for Lee and Mohammed, without success.

The court heard Gall and friends Leon Richards and Sean Collier returned to Redditch on the day of the attack because Gall had a job interview.

When Gall spotted a group of Asians in the Kingfisher Centre, he asked if they knew Mohammed and pretended he wanted to buy cannabis from him.

A meeting was arranged and Gall went into the alley off Market Place with Mohammed and Collier.

A scuffle occurred, Richards ran and Collier saw Mohammed use a knife on Gall, said Mr Coward.

On Wednesday, a friend of Mohammed's gave evidence that Gall's associates, including Baker, had said to him after the original dispute: "Tell that black bastard and that Paki I'm going to stab them."

The witness, who can not be named for legal reasons, also claimed Baker and his companion were both shouting and drunk.

Lee told the court: "The lads said they would come back and slit our throats."

Baker denied any racist comment but admitted Gall had drunk two cans of strong lager and a half bottle of vodka on the way to the town centre.

The trial continues.