Walney School sister who stabbed victim wants better education on knife crime

In a matter of minutes one winter morning, the course of that child’s life changed forever and irreversibly, leaving him mentally and physically scarred.

The teenage attacker was subsequently sentenced to three years in custody, and his decision to pick up and use a knife changed his life as well.

The boy’s victim’s sister spoke out to encourage other young people to look to the deadly consequences of knife crime.

“My brother was lucky in a way,” says the 19-year-old.

“The attack didn’t do enough damage to keep him out of here, but many others lost the fight against knife crime.”

Her brother, who was only 15 years old at the time, was left with scars on his head, legs and body as a result of the brutal and frenzied attack. My family still struggles to understand.

“Receiving the call was horrible. It wasn’t something I could have prepared for. He was in a school that should have been safe.

“We had to watch CCTV footage to see what happened. Watching it is the worst thing I have ever seen.”

This incident changed everything from my teenage education (I couldn’t go back to school to sit on the GCSE), to my appearance and my ability to sleep well at night.

“It affected everything,” says his sister.

“My brother has good days and bad days, but like his scars, there are consequences that will never go away.

“Now everyone knows him as the ‘stabbed man,’ but he doesn’t want it. It makes him feel like it’s never going to end.”

She hopes that no one else suffers like her brother and family, and calls for more to be done to solve youth crimes at their roots.

If someone intervenes when a child starts showing signs that they’re going the wrong way, she says, it can prevent their behavior from escalating to picking up and using a knife. .

“Often, they’ve been getting away with little things and getting slapped on the wrist for years.

“If they get away with small crimes for too long, they will think they can get away with worse crimes.”

She believes early intervention is critical, with a clear focus on education about the dangers of knife crime.

“By the age of 16, we know the legitimacy and illegality of picking up a knife, but we need more education and awareness of how knife crime affects us.

“Some young people don’t realize until it’s too late that if they pick up a knife, they may end up accepting the consequences forever.

“Schools need to talk about this and teachers need to look for signs.

“Knife crime is still very rare here compared to the city, but I believe it could get much worse.

“Even with this incident, we hear more and more kids are carrying knives and they don’t understand the gravity of what they’re doing.

“They need to be clear about how serious it is and how serious the consequences can be.

“If there is a message for them, when you pick up that knife, you will not only be ruining other people’s lives, but you will be ruining your own life as well.

“You may and may regret it, but you will always be known as the kid who did it, and you have to live with it.”