A Wiltshire boy who stabbed a teenage girl and a shopkeeper has avoided a prison sentence after the judge said he was ‘young enough to learn’.
The 14-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, repeatedly struck the victim with a kitchen knife inside a shop in Cirencester. He also stabbed a shopkeeper who tried to intervene in the violent attack.
The defendant had previously pleaded guilty to wounding with intent, inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent and possession of a bladed article in a public place.
The court heard that the boy had become obsessed with the girl, also aged 14, while they were at school together.
She rejected his advances in December 2025, after which he began using fake social media accounts to send her messages.
Police were called to Upper Churnside in Cirencester at around 11.15am on 15 March following reports of a stabbing.
The boy had been waiting near a shop when he saw the girl enter to buy a drink. He followed her inside while carrying a kitchen knife in his jeans pocket.
He then grabbed the girl and repeatedly struck her with the knife.
A shopkeeper who witnessed the attack tried to grab the boy and pull him away from the teenager.
The boy struck the shopkeeper in the back with the knife, causing him to flee. The girl was then able to escape from the shop and raise the alarm at a neighbouring property.
She suffered cuts to her neck, hands and face, as well as bruising to her back. The shopkeeper sustained a cut to his back.
The boy fled but was located by police close to the scene.
Officers searched him and discovered a knife in his jeans pocket. He also had a fresh cut to his hand.
In a Victim Personal Statement read to the court, the girl said: “I’m scared and nervous anywhere that I go. Even if someone puts their hand up next to me I flinch as I don’t know what they are about to do to me. I know this is as a result of the incident, as I wasn’t like this before.
“I was in so much shock after it happened. I didn’t leave the house for a couple of days. I never thought something like this would ever happen to me, or anyone I know at all.
“I’ve been having nightmares since; I relive the incident, but in these dreams it happens in different places.
“I sleep in the dark but when I wake, I constantly feel like there is a presence in the room. I can’t stop thinking about it.
“This is going to affect my ability to trust people. I’m now getting dropped off to work…because I don’t want to be outside on my own. I shouldn’t have to feel like this as a teenager in my own area.”
He appeared at Bristol Crown Court, sitting as a youth court, on Monday 21 September, where he was handed a 12-month referral order and a three-year restraining order.
According to the BBC, Judge Ian Lawrie described the stabbing as a “very troubling event” but said he did not consider the boy to be a “danger”.
Sentencing the teenager, he said: “He’s still young. And he is capable of learning.”
The BBC reports that Judge Lawrie was also “surprised” the boy had spent three months in custody, saying that “while the offences are serious”, this was “inconsistent” with the usual process for youth cases.
Speaking after sentencing, Detective Superintendent Ian Fletcher, Head of Serious and Complex Investigations, said: “This was a frenzied attack that took place in broad daylight.
“The victim was stabbed multiple times with a knife and has been very, very lucky to get away with only minor injuries.
“We could easily have been looking at a fatal incident if that knife had pierced her anywhere else.
“My hope now is that the victim is able to move on from these deeply traumatic events and start to rebuild her life again.”
