Boy sliced man with 8-inch knife after what he agreed to buy from shop

A man who bought teenagers cigarette rolling paper from a shop was stabbed in the head and back with , suffering severe injuries which left him permanently scarred.

Peter Gabriel was on his way to meet a friend in , when he saw three youths near a shop. After a brief chat he agreed to go inside the store and buy them Rizla paper using change given to him by the group. When he came out Liverpool heard how he followed them around a corner when he was punched in the chin, causing him to fall, before they started chasing the victim.

He was chased toward his home by the three as they "challenged him as to why he was in the area", the court heard, with one warning "go before I stab you in the neck lad". The defendant then produced a "huntiny style knife" with an eight-inch blade from a sheath, using it to strike the victim four to five times in the back, .

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The blows caused Mr Gabriel to stumble to the floor and left him "screaming for help". The teen's friends were "encouraging the attack", as they urged the boy to "chop him up" before the youth approached him once more and stabbed him in the head. His attackers fled as neighbours came to help.

Mr Gabriel was said to have suffered a "number of stab wounds to the back" which were closed with sutures, although the "most significant injury" was sustained to the top of his head. The court was told the youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, committed a series of offences over a "short space of time" between September and December last year, including attacking Mr Gabriel.

In one incident the now-15-year-old carried out "unprovoked" assaults against three members of staff at the care home wher ehe was living and damaged an internal door. He had been speaking to a friend on FaceTime in a communal area when he was "asked to calm down" by one of the workers, Helen Chenery, prosecuting, said.

The prosecutor said he responded by racically abusing the carer before attempting to headbutt and bite him kicking him in the shins and repeatedly punching him in the head and body. He went on to hurl further slurs at the staff member before kicking the door to an office which he had "barricaded himself" inside. Two employees intervened, with the boy biting one on the forearm and punching him twice in the left eye before spitting in the face of a female staff member who had stepped in.

Another incident included breaking into the home of a 76-year-old man, along with two "significantly older" men, one of whom went on to brandish a hammer toward the OAP, demanding money. The victim handed over £240 from his pocket, while a second offender took the keys to his £25,000 Jaguar from his briefcase. The three climbed back out through the broken window and "sped away" in the vehicle.

The car was later written off after being involved in a head-on crash that same evening. The defendant, who suffered serious injuries including a broken leg in the collision, was found in the front passenger in possession of £50 in cash, the complainant's wallet and a knife.

He has one previous conviction for three charges of theft and assaulting an emergency services worker, for which he received a youth referral order in August 2024. The youth admitted robbery, theft of a motor vehicle, possession of a bladed article in a public place, two counts of racially aggravated assault, assault, criminal damage and possession of cannabis in relation to a small quantity of the class B drug which was seized from him during an unrelated arrest in October 2024.

He was found guilty of wounding with intent following a trial before the youth court. Appearing in the dock wearing a black shirt, he was handed four years and seven months in youth detention. A judge told the teen today that the man could have been killed during the shockingly violent episode.

Martine Snowdon, defending, told the court: "He is only just 15 years old. There are some very real features of his upbringing and circumstances that bear on his behaviour last year and the prospects of his rehabilitation, his dangers and risks and how long it will take to achieve rehabilitation.

Judge David Potter said the youth’s term would have been 10 years if the offences had been committed by an adult. He added in his sentencing remarks: "I have seen the injuries. They are horrible. One stab wound is enough to kill a man. Mr Gabriel was extremely lucky not to be more seriously injured or worse, killed.

"You led the charge on Mr Gabriel and used a highly dangerous weapon to inflict injuries. Mr Gabriel did suffer a grave injury. It has caused no doubt permanent scarring.

"You are still very young. You have the capacity to grow and mature. I have read a lot about your background. I accept that you have had a very difficult start to life and that your experiences have affected you and your opportunities in life.”