16-year-old sentenced for stabbing another teenager

Date published: 24/06/2008

A 16 year-old boy has today, Tuesday 24 June 2008, been jailed for stabbing another teenager after he accidentally bumped into him on a bus.

The Bury teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent at Bolton Youth Court in January.

He has been sentenced to a two-year detention and training order.

On 6 November 2007 the victim and his friend were on their way home from school when the attack happened.

It was just after 4pm and they had ridden a bus from the Heaton Park area into Radcliffe.
The bus was busy, and as it braked at the bus stop the victim, also 16, was pushed forward, accidentally bumping into the offender, who was standing in front of him.

The offender stared at the victim and, once they were off the bus, started following him and his friend up Radcliffe New Road.

He shouted at them to stop, but they kept walking, telling him to go away.

The friends kept walking down the road, and when they reached the junction with Nipper Lane they saw the 16-year-old standing in an alleyway with his older brother.

The offender ran towards the victim, and was clearly seen to be holding a long, blue handled knife.

The victim started to run away, dropping the large art folder he was carrying, but the offender caught up with him and dragged him back by his collar. He then stabbed the victim in his leg.

After the attack he turned to the victim's friend and threatened him before the offender and the other boy ran away. However, a passing man who witnessed the stabbing followed the two boys and saw them go into their home nearby.

The witness returned to the scene and told police officers where the boys had gone.

Meanwhile, the victim's friend had helped him into a nearby shop. He was frightened and bleeding badly. The shopkeeper called the emergency services.

When officers arrived at the scene a short time later they were directed to the house where the offender had gone.

They arrested the offender at the address. In a subsequent search they found an empty sheath for a knife. Pictures of a knife similar to that described by witnesses to the attack were also recovered from the offender's phone.

The victim was taken to hospital where he underwent emergency surgery as the knife had passed right through his left thigh from back to front, narrowly missing his femoral artery.

In police interviews the offender denied that any knife had been used in the attack, but admitted having a fight with the victim.

Detective Inspector Lynne Vernon said: "This attack was shocking, unprovoked and violent, and the victim was very lucky not to have died. The treatment to mend his leg has been long and painful, and he could have lifelong nerve damage as a result of this attack. The psychological affect this attack had on this young man has also been severe.

"Knives are very dangerous weapons, and can quite clearly ruin people's lives. They just should not be carried around. Anyone who does carry a knife out of habit, or what they think is necessity, could also be heading for jail, or much worse.

"Although knife crime represents only a very small portion of crime as a whole in Greater Manchester, we are committed to continue working to stop incidents like this, and to educate young people especially on the real dangers of these weapons."