Leamington schoolboy gatecrashed a party and repeatedly stabbed a teenager after he saw a video of a fight on Snapchat

A Leamington schoolboy turned up at a party after seeing an online video of a friend involved in a fight – and repeatedly stabbed one of the other teenagers during a confrontation.

He then cycled from the scene, discarding the knife as he did so, leaving other distressed party-goers to tend to his victim – who fortunately did not suffer life-threatening injuries.

The attacker, who was 14 at the time and cannot be named because of his age, pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to a charge of wounding with intent to cause serious injury.

Now 15, the boy, who attended the same Leamington school as his victim at the time, was sentenced to a two-year detention and training order.

Prosecutor Graeme Simpson said that in March last year a party was held at a house in Kinross Road, Lillington, where most if not all of the guests were from the same Leamington school.

A fight broke out in the house which involved a number of people including the eventual victim, who was 16 at the time.

“No weapons were involved and no serious injuries were sustained, and the fight was over relatively quickly, but someone at the party posted a video clip of the fight on Snapchat.”

It was seen by the defendant, who was not at the party, and he armed himself with a kitchen knife with a five-inch blade before cycling to the house where he confronted the older boy on the drive and punched him to the face.

“He then produced the knife. He went to stab [the victim] in the abdomen but he turned away and was stabbed to the back of the thigh,” said Mr Simpson.

“A short struggle ensued and [the victim] was stabbed by the defendant a further three times, twice in the upper right back and once in the upper rear thigh.”

The wounds to the back caused small bruises to his lungs, and the victim, who had felt blood running down his leg, believed the defendant was going to kill him when he felt the other blows.

Mr Simpson said many people who use knives believe the leg is ‘an innocuous target’ – and Judge Peter Cooke observed that only a week earlier he had dealt with a case where a victim who was stabbed in the leg would have died from blood loss if it had not been for the actions of a medically-trained police officer.

“Other party goers went to the victim’s aid, and mobile phone footage shows he appeared to be in a state of shock as they did their best, using socks, to stem the flow of blood,” said Mr Simpson.

Meanwhile the defendant fled on his bike, discarding the knife under a parked car from where it was later recovered, and knocked on the door of a nearby house.

He said he had been in a fight, and the occupiers, who did not know him, thought he seemed frightened and tried to calm him down, and he gave them his mother’s number, so they called her, and it was she who contacted the police, and he was arrested.

When he was first interviewed, he replied ‘no comment,’ but in a later interview ‘he made admissions and said he wanted to be forgiven,’ said Mr Simpson.

The boy explained that after seeing the video he went to the house to make sure his friends were alright, taking the knife because he was worried about what might happen when he got there.

He said he saw a friend being punched by the older boy and went to assist, and produced the knife when he felt his victim was getting the better of him.

Jennifer Josephs, defending, pointed out that the victim had not been invited to the party, but was ‘one of a group who had stormed in’ for one of them to have a fight with someone there.

When the defendant turned up, the victim was outside and they started fighting and had each-other in headlocks, at which the boy took out the knife and used it.

“It was a terrible thing that he did. He thought he was going there to help out his friends, albeit it was a misguided decision.”

Miss Josephs said the boy had shown ‘genuine remorse,’ and added that he had to change schools as a result, but had now been offered an apprenticeship.

Judge Cooke told the boy: “Prior to the offence you had never been convicted of any criminal act, and in the 14 months since then you have behaved in a law-abiding fashion.

“I am on safe ground to say that for you to use violence was wholly out of character. Unlike a lot of young people who come before the courts, you come from a very stable, supportive home.

“But this is an offence of wounding with intent. It is the most serious non-fatal offence of violence with the one exception of attempted murder.

“You got on your bike and cycled to the scene. I accept you did that out of concern for and loyalty towards your friends, not because you were looking for a fight yourself.

“Your downfall was that before you got on your bike, you took a detour into the kitchen and armed yourself with a knife.

“Initially the knife stayed in your pocket, but there came a point when your perception was that you were losing the fight, and it is then, I accept in a panic, that you took the knife out and used it... and you used it repeatedly.

"Thankfully his wounds were not deep, and no organs were damaged. The fact that they weren’t was pure luck.”

The judge said that if he had been an adult, the starting point after a trial would have been six years, but pointed out that that for a young person rehabilitation was a key issue.

But he added: “Youths who decide to arm themselves with knives for a confrontation and then use those knives must expect that by doing so they make custody inevitable.

“Generally I love my job, but there are days when I don’t like it one bit, and this is one of those days because I have no option but to send you into custody.”