WEST Midlands Police has reiterated it will push for strong prison sentences against anyone caught carrying knives − a warning that comes after two teens were locked-up for more than 20 years for a knife attack in a Solihull park.
The pair, who were just 16 and 17 at the time, fled after leaving their 20 year-old victim with serious injuries in parkland off Whitefields Gate in December 2015.
Officers were first on the scene and managed to support the man until paramedics arrived and airlifted him to hospital.
A police investigation identified Ahmed Ahmed, now 18, as having stabbed the victim while a 17-year-old boy − who cannot be named for legal reasons − punched and held the man.
They were convicted of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm following a trial and were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court.
Ahmed, of Wollescote Drive, Hillfields in Coventry, was jailed for 13 years – which also included possession of an offensive weapon – and the youth was sentenced to eight years.
West Midlands Police takes a tough stance against knife crime and is also involved in an on-going project to deter young people from carrying a weapon.
Det Insp Caroline Corfield, from Force CID, said: “This was a particularly violent attack where they left the victim with serious injuries and then fled the scene.
“We were able to identify the pair through our investigation and these lengthy sentences highlight the consequences of having a knife.
“Just by carrying a knife leaves you exposed to a spur-of-the-moment action which can have a potentially fatal outcome.
“Knife crime will not be tolerated and we are committed to tackling this; carrying out enforcement and also education around the dangers.”
West Midlands Police runs the Precious Lives project alongside the parents who have experienced the trauma of lives lost due to a gun or knife.
Since 2011 more than 100,000 school pupils have seen the hard-hitting presentation which is designed to steer them away from knife crime and ’de-glamourise’ gang culture.
