Teenage boy accused of attempted murder in Bradford

A boy aged 16 is on trial at Bradford Crown Court denying attempted murder, wounding with intent, and having an article with a blade or point. 

Prosecutor Adam Birkby alleged that the defendant, who can’t be named because of his age, stabbed the boy in Grosvenor Park, Manningham, at 5.15pm on Saturday, March 11. 

“The Crown say that when he stabbed him he intended to kill him,” Mr Birkby told the jury. 

Mr Birkby told the jury that in the days before the incident, a fight had been arranged between two boys. By the early hours of the Saturday, it was agreed that it would take place at around 5pm that day in Grosvenor Park. 

The defendant was well aware of this because one of his friends was involved, the court was told. 

Mr Birkby said the two opposing groups began converging on the park. The jury watched CCTV footage of a group of males walking towards it with the defendant among them. He had his fists clenched and he was shadowboxing, it was alleged. 

The stabbed boy had become aware of the fight and had gone along to watch it, the jury was told. 

Mr Birkby said there were two incidents of violence. The first was towards the north end of the park when the defendant and two others had a violent confrontation with some young males. 

The second incident was near the south entrance when the defendant produced a knife and stabbed the victim, it is alleged. 

Footage showed that the defendant’s jacket was damaged in the initial attack and that enabled the police to identify and track him down afterward, Mr Birkby stated. 

Forensic officers in the park (Image: Newsquest)

Then at the Laburnum Street side of the park, the other male was stabbed, the jury heard. 

The defendant is shown approaching him and pulling something from the waistband of his trousers.  

Mr Birkby said the Crown say it was a knife and that the stabbing is shown on the CCTV footage played in court. 

He allegedly made ‘a deliberate stabbing movement’ towards the boy before leaving the park. 

The victim was stabbed in his right side and can be seen looking under his jacket. He had sustained a single stab wound and was able to get back into the park before being overcome by the severity of his injury. His friend found him bleeding profusely and gasping for air. 

He was taken to Leeds General Infirmary where it was found that his right lung had collapsed and he had life-threatening bleeding in his chest cavity. 

Police at the scene (Image: Newsquest)

He had emergency surgery to stop the bleeding and suffered brain damage due to oxygen deprivation, the jury was told. 

Mr Birkby said the defendant threw his jacket away in the corner of an alleyway. The jury saw photos of it in situ with a tear in the back of it. 

It was alleged he was disposing of incriminating evidence and that he changed into an entirely different outfit afterward. He also altered his hairstyle and dumped his phone, the jury was told. 

He was arrested shortly before 1am on Sunday, March 12, and answered no comment to all questions put to him. 

Mr Birkby said the defendant accepted that he was at the park. He said he had picked up a small metal pole but denied being in possession of a knife or stabbing the boy. 

In October 2021, a group of ten to 12 young males were seen in a confrontation in Manningham, the jury heard. They exchanged punches and ran off but a large knife was found in the area. 

A witness to the exchange pointed out the defendant to the police and he was found to be armed with a machete that was secured in his waistband. 

Mr Birkby alleged that he had a tendency to carry a knife and to potentially use it in violent confrontation with other young males. 

The jury was told that the wounding with intent charge was an alternative to the attempted murder allegation. 

The trial, expected to last up to seven days, continues.