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Teen's murder "sectarian"

A Catholic schoolboy who was cornered in an alley in Ballymena and beaten with a baseball bat in a sectarian assault has died, inflaming sectarian tensions in the town and reviving concerns about community relations across Northern Ireland. Michael McIlveen (15) was attacked by a gang of youths after buying a takeaway pizza on Saturday night. The youths trapped him in an alley, struck him repeatedly and stamped on his head. He staggered home and was taken to hospital. His family remained at his bedside until his life support machine was switched off on Monday. Michael's uncle, Francis McIlveen, told the BBC's Nolan programme on Tuesday that the family wanted to ensure such attacks never happened again. ``The family's distraught at the minute,'' he said. ``They just can't believe that wee Michael's gone, a wee child, 15 years of age, lying in that bed, dead.'' Politicians in Ballymena, County Antrim, asked the community not to retaliate. There have been frequent sectarian clashes in the town. —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

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