Youngsters from the poorest areas are seven times more likely to fall victim to fatal blade violence and three quarters of victims were known to social services, new analysis suggests
The average age of children who die in knife attacks is 14, new research reveals.
Youngsters living in the most deprived parts of the country are seven times more likely to fall victim to fatal blade violence than those from more affluent areas, the analysis suggests.
Children who were stabbed to death had often experienced domestic abuse and three quarters were already known to social services, the study found.
It is the first time a detailed study has been carried out into the backgrounds of children killed in knife attacks and the injuries they suffered. The researchers found Black children were 13 times more likely to be stabbed to death than their White peers.
It comes from an analysis of the causes of death among under 18s in England between 2019 and 2024, published online today in the Emergency Medicine Journal.
Among the victims were Deshaun James Tuitt, 15, who was fatally stabbed in Islington, north London in August 2022, Tomasz Oleszak, 14, killed in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, in October, 2022 and Fares Maatou, 14, murdered in Canning Town, East London, in 2021.
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Neville Lawrence, whose 18-year-old son Stephen was stabbed in the heart on April 23, 1993, said: “On Wednesday it will be 33 years since the death of my son Stephen. During that time I have seen many more children and young people murdered in the UK, many from the Black community.
“This research highlights a long term problem that we have known about for many years and yet remain: that young people from poorer areas and the Black community are most likely to be victims of fatal violence.
“What does it say about us as a society when some of the most vulnerable, our children, are dying because of a lack of opportunity, deprivation and inequality? These are all things we can fix if we really wanted to.
“All of us must stop and ask what we can do as individuals and how we hold our leaders to account to tackle the structural inequalities and institutional racial discrimination that underpins these needless deaths.”
Barry Mizen, whose 16-year-old son Jimmy was murdered in 2009, said: “The figures show heart breaking detail and at the very least it will drive the narrative for a while. I question the highlighting of ethnic disparities as adding to the conversation, rather than an overall correlation of the effects of deprivation, although I don’t have proof, ethnicity and deprivation seem to sit side by side in many instances.
“I think the overall take would be more impactful if we concentrate on the impact it has in such young age groups, irrespective of ethnicity. For some well meaning professionals they never look deep enough, or follow up enough, with all best intentions but with some horrible outcomes.”
Patrick Green, CEO of the Ben Kinsella Trust, said: “It is a tragedy that knife crime continues to steal the lives of two young people every single month.
“This crisis is driven by deep‑rooted racial inequality, deprivation and trauma, making it clear that enforcement alone will never be enough while Black children and young people in the poorest communities remain most at risk.
“When three‑quarters of these children were already known to social services, it is clear we must intervene far earlier and ensure the right support reaches young people before it is too late.”
During the period examined by researchers, 145 under 18s died as a result of knife wounds, with the death rate increasing from 2021 onwards.
Their mean age was 14.4 and a large majority (90%) were male. The highest proportion of deaths occurred in London (62), followed by the West Midlands (17), and the North West (16). Most (87%) victims sustained multiple stab wounds.
London had the highest annual rate of deaths per 100,000 children and teens, followed by the West Midlands. The lowest rates were seen in the South East and the East of England.
And children living in the most deprived areas of England were seven times more likely to die of their injuries than those living in the least deprived parts of the country.
Some 57 cases were available for detailed analysis, and this showed that three quarters of the victims were known to social services, with a significant proportion (59%; 33) had suffered domestic abuse.
The loss of a key adult figure, through separation or bereavement, had been reported in over half the children killed (51%; 29). Injuries to the chest and neck were responsible for three quarters of the fatalities, with over half dying before reaching hospital. Gang involvement was mentioned in 37% (21) of the deaths, with drugs reported as being a factor in 68% (39).
Concerns around the child carrying knives were recorded in one in four (25.5%; 14) files. And over half of them were known to be both victims and perpetrators of childhood violence. Neurodiversity or mental health concerns had also been reported in half (51%; 29) the cases; 16 (28%) children had been referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
The work drew on information submitted to the National Child Mortality Database, established in 2019 and the first of its kind to collate all child deaths.
The researchers said that their study: “Highlights the importance of improving preinjury identification and support for children who are experiencing marginalisation and adversity.” They added: “Our findings highlight the need for services to examine childhood experiences of violence and abuse both inside and outside their homes, and to confront the ways in which certain children from racialised and poor backgrounds may be overlooked for early intervention.
“From our sample, despite frequent contact with statutory services, many children lacked targeted support for [adverse childhood experiences], particularly [domestic violence and abuse]. This revealed critical gaps in early intervention.”
In July last year two teenagers were given life sentences for murdering a 14-year-old boy who they attacked with machetes on a bus in south-east London. Kelyan Bokassa was stabbed 27 times as he sat on the back seat of a route 472 bus in January of last year. His attackers admitted murder after the assault was captured on bus CCTV cameras.
In a statement read on her behalf outside the court, Kelyan’s mother Marie Bokassa appealed to the Government for action on knife crime and youth violence, adding that authorities had “lost control of London”. She said: “To the Government and authorities, how many mothers like me will it take? How many children must be buried before you act with urgency? Where are you? Where were you?”
A 2024 report by the Youth Endowment Fund found the number of those aged 10 to 17 admitted to hospital for injuries caused by knives or sharp instruments surged in England from 2015-16 and was 47 per cent higher than it was in 2012-13.
Figures released in November show a 5% drop in knife-related crime in a year. There were 51,527 blade offences in the 12 months to June, compared to 54,215 the previous year. There was an 18% drop in knife homicides in the same period.
Budding architect Stephen Lawrence as murdered by a gang of racist thugs as he waited for a bus in Eltham, South-East London. Jimmy Mizen was killed in a bakery in Lee, South-East London, after Jake Fahri, then 19, threw an oven dish at him and shard sliced a vein and artery in his neck.
