A 15-year-old boy has been accused at Liverpool Crown Court of the attempted murder of another 15-year-old lad, whom he allegedly stabbed 11 times, and also knifing the boy's 14-year-old girlfriend in the chest. The accused, who cannot be publicly named due to legal restrictions, is said to have orchestrated this “premeditated” attack as an act of retaliation. The alleged motive stems from an earlier incident where one of his friends sustained a head injury after being struck with a metal pole.

This previous altercation was presented as the “catalyst” for the defendant to conceal a knife in his waistband before reportedly ambushing the victim “from his blindside” at a bus stop outside a corner shop. The court heard that the defendant then repeatedly struck the boy with the weapon and stabbed his girlfriend when she attempted to intervene. The defendant faces trial on multiple charges, including attempted murder.

During Tuesday afternoon's proceedings, a jury of six men and six women were shown CCTV footage of the incident. The footage, as reported by the Liverpool Echo, captured the defendant, then aged 14, and a companion approaching a bus shelter on Whitefield Drive in Kirkby on the evening of April 30. They were dressed in tracksuits with their hoods up. Another boy, waiting for a bus with two girls, was seen picking up a discarded bottle and confronting the defendant’s companion. Subsequently, the defendant was observed “circling behind him, approaching from his blindside,” drawing a bladed weapon from his waistband, and stabbing the victim, as detailed by the Mirror.

Prosecutor Arthur Gibson outlined the case, stating, “In all, he delivers 11 stab blows to [the boy]. In the course of the attack, [the boy's girlfriend] intervenes and comes between the two of them. He stabs her once. That, in a nutshell, is what this case is all about.” Both victims suffered severe stab wounds and were hospitalized at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, though they have since made significant recoveries.

The stabbing followed an earlier confrontation in an area known as the Alt, near Tithe Barn Lane. During this initial incident, the injured boy allegedly threw a metal pole at another friend of the defendant, causing a cut to his forehead that required hospital treatment. This occurred after another individual in the opposing group reportedly “produced a weapon from his trousers,” which Mr. Gibson described as the “catalyst which caused the eventual incident outside Go Local” on Whitefield Drive.

Following the first confrontation, the defendant went home. However, after a 45-second phone call from his friend shortly after 8 PM, the two were seen meeting again within five minutes and heading towards the bus shelter. CCTV then showed the defendant seemingly “putting something in the waistband of his trousers,” believed to be the knife, while his companion wore a balaclava.

Mr. Gibson emphasized that the incident at the bus shelter was not an immediate reaction but occurred 25 minutes later, suggesting it “had been thought out.” He argued that the defendant approached from behind and could be seen producing the knife. The wounded boy was initially stabbed twice in the back before collapsing, at which point the defendant “stood over him and stabbed him three more times.” He then “pushed past” the two girls who tried to intervene, delivering a further three blows. Mr. Gibson further recounted, “It was at this point that [the girl] got between the two of them, and he plunged the knife into her chest. He then turned his attention back to [the boy]. [The boy] was trying to pick himself up off the ground. [The defendant] kicked him in the face and stabbed him several more times.” In total, the boy sustained 11 stab wounds, primarily to his upper front torso, back, or upper left arm.

The defendant and his friend fled the scene, but the defendant was arrested at his home address shortly after 9:30 PM that evening. Officers noted a cut to his hand, and during an interview the following day, he claimed he had “never met [the boy] before.” Michael Pugh, the landlord of the nearby Johnny Todd pub, provided first aid to the boy after a member of the public raised the alarm, reporting “two kids have been stabbed by the shop.” A nurse driving past also stopped to assist before the arrival of police and paramedics.

Concluding his opening statement, Mr. Gibson reiterated that the first incident was the catalyst for the subsequent attack. He stated that the defendant has admitted stabbing both victims and acting unlawfully. While the defendant claims he only intended to cause serious injury to the boy and was reckless regarding the girl, the prosecution firmly rejects this. Mr. Gibson asserted, “We say that he attempted to kill, that is, to murder, [the boy]. We say that the attack was premeditated. He armed himself with a knife. He repeatedly stabbed [the boy], not just once or twice, not even three or four times. A total of 11 blows.” The prosecution highlighted that the defendant continued the attack even after the boy fell, after the girls tried to intervene, and after stabbing the girlfriend, implying it was “to get her out of the way.” The blows were aimed at the boy’s chest area, front or back, where vital organs are located, leading the prosecution to argue that the only reason for so many stab wounds is an intent to kill, not merely to cause serious harm.