Horror as boy seen ‘carrying machete’ in residential street after stabbing

Police investigating the attempted murder of a teenage boy in south Bristol say a young male was spotted ‘carrying a machete’ on a quiet residential road not long after the 17-year-old was stabbed.

The incident happened on Marksbury Road at around 7pm last night (Tuesday, August 23) before a resident spotted the young man carrying the weapon and dialled 999.

Residents reported a police helicopter circling overhead ‘for ages’ while scores of police cars along with an ambulance arrived on the Bedminster street.

Speaking to BristolWorld, Neighbourhood Inspector Chris Green said that armed police also descended on the area before officers travelled to a property around a mile away on Headley Lane.

Inside, they found two boys aged 15 and 16 and arrested them on suspicion of attempted murder.

Meanwhile, a 17-year-old boy arrived at Bristol Royal Infirmary with stab wounds and was treated by medics.

His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening, said Insp Green, but he does remain in hospital while the two boys who were arrested are in police custody.

It is not yet known exactly where the victim was stabbed.

Asked if knife crime had become an issue in south Bristol, Insp Green said: “I would say that as a nation we are all concerned about young people carrying knives.

“But incidents where knives are actually used and people are injured remain quite low.

“What we will say is that the young people are known to each other, and that’s where we would look to reassure the public.

“The incident is contained within that group and there is no known danger to the wider public.”

So why are young people carrying knives?

“There are a number of reasons for this,” Insp Green went on, “but generally it’s because young people may not feel safe.

“And with that we’d always reiterate the message that you have a higher chance of a knife being used against you if you carry one.

“This is why we are using any additional government funding to work with people in schools and across the local authority to tackle knife crime.

“Then there’s Operation Spectre which is a national scheme involving weapon sweeps, education and stop and search.”

Reassurace patrols have been stepped up in Marksbury Road and will continue over the coming days.

Insp Green added: “We will look to secure charges against anyone who was engaged in violence or carrying a weapon last night.”

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information which could help is asked to call 101 and provide the reference 5222203576.