A 14-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a 15-year-old boy and a girl of 14 were knifed at a bus stop in Kirkby, Merseyside on Wednesday
The age of a 14-year-old suspect accused of stabbing a teen boy and girl is a huge concern, police have said. The boy has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a 15-year-old boy and a girl of 14 were knifed at a bus stop in Kirkby, Merseyside on Wednesday.
Another suspect is still at large, with detectives unclear if they were male or female. The male victim suffered a number of stab wounds and the girl a single wound to her chest. Both are in a serious but stable condition in hospital. Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
Chief Insp Ray Mavrakakis said police believed the attack was related to an earlier incident involving youths in a nearby street.
He said: “It was a beautiful evening outside of a public house and a shop. It was witnessed by numerous members of the public. There will be a negative impact on the community.” Witnesses saw the boy collapsed near a bus stop opposite the New Johnny Todd pub and a Go Local Extra shop, in Kirkby, Merseyside.
One neighbour said: “There was arguing down the road earlier and things escalated. You heard screaming and shouting. I think someone from the pub brought a chair out for one of the kids who had been stabbed. It’s horrible.”
Another said: “There were flashing blue lights. It was a lovely evening, groups of kids were everywhere. It’s scary young kids are carrying knives.”
Chief Insp Mavrakakis said the age of the suspect and the victims was a “huge concern”, with the incident on Wednesday night being declared “critical”.
Merseyside Police said in a statement today: “We have arrested a teenage boy following a double stabbing in Kirkby last night, Wednesday 30 April. At 8.25pm, armed police were called to Whitefield Drive in Westvale to reports of two teenagers being stabbed.
“A 15-year-old boy suffered a number of stab wounds to the body and a 14-year-old girl suffered a single stab wound to the chest. Both are currently in a serious but stable condition in hospital. Their injuries are not believed to be life threatening.
“A 14-year-old male has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and is currently in custody where he will be interviewed by officers.
“Detectives believe the incident may have been linked to an earlier dispute which took place between a group of youths in the Tithe Barn Lane area and are appealing for any witnesses to come forward. An investigation remains ongoing and house-to-house, CCTV and witness enquiries are being carried out locally.”
Detective Inspector Graeme Osborne said: “Our initial enquiries suggest there may have been an earlier incident in the Tithe Barn Lane area and we believe that there are people who may have witnessed this. I would urge those people to come forward.“It was a pleasant summer’s evening and we know that there would have been people in and around the Westvale area, both in cars or on foot, and I would appeal for anyone who saw anything, or captured something on their mobile phone or dashcam to contact us.“We know incidents such as this involving young people causes a great deal of concern for our communities but I want the public to know we are working hard to proactively drive down knife crime in Merseyside.“Preventing young people from being drawn into knife crime is a big priority and we are tackling this by working with partner agencies and charities, including Merseyside’s Violence Reduction Partnership, to identify young people at risk and help them turn their life around.“Our message to those who carry a knife, or are thinking of carrying one, is clear – this places you in a dangerous situation and actually increases your chances of becoming hurt.”
Anyone who believes they can assist the investigation is asked to contact @MerPolCC on X, ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ on Facebook, 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online via Give information anonymously | Crimestoppers with reference 25000358289.
