16 year old sentenced for stabbing victim multiple times

A 16 year old boy has been sentenced following a shocking incident that took place in October last year.

On 11 October the young lad asked an 18 year old male from Southampton for a lift to Mansbridge. The 18 year old initially said no, but when the younger teen became confrontational, he did oblige and duly drove to Monks Way.

On arrival at Monks Way, the 16 year old requested that the other male walk with him to the park. When in an alleyway, the 16 year old produced a knife from his bag. In his attempts to get away, the 18 year old fell and suffered multiple stab wounds, two of which were to his abdomen. Thankfully, he was able to gain help from a nearby resident, whilst the 16 year old fled the scene.

The victim was taken to hospital with life threatening injuries. He has, however, made a full recovery since the incident.

Following a number of enquiries, police arrested and charged the 16 year old three days later. His home was also searched and a number of items were found. Cannabis, two fire arms and an imitation pistol were among items seized by officers, and later destroyed.

The 16 year old, who cannot be named for legal reasons pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm and ammunition without a certificate, possessing a prohibited firearm and possessing a controlled class B drug.

In front of a jury yesterday, the lad was found guilty of wounding with intent. He was sentenced to six years in a young offenders institution.

In a statement, DI Janine Bradley from Western Investigations (the senior investigating officer in the case) said:

“This unwarranted attack was terrifying for the victim and hopefully this sentence shows we do all in our power to bring perpetrators of serious violence to justice.

Knife crime destroys lives and taking weapons off our streets is one of our top priorities in Southampton. From knife sweeps to engagement with partners, education and enforcement, we will use all the tools available to us to stop people using knives.

Just last week, we carried out a week of action called Operation Sceptre, which allowed us to focus our resources on the issue and resulted in weapons being seized.