A serving police officer has spoken about their encounter with a 15-year-old boy who was recently found wandering the streets with a stab wound.
The recital was shared in several tweets by a serving officer (@the999plod):
‘So, this week, a familiar face caught my eye who is a regular knife carrier.
‘As I approached with colleagues, he didn’t try to make off but started to motion to his waistband; I have recovered a machete from him in the past.
‘He was detained and about to be searched when he said he had cut himself motioning to his hip/lower back. A closer inspection revealed a 1-inch cut/ hole in his puffa jacket.
‘I knew what was coming next as my colleagues and I discovered a fresh stab wound, dangerously close to his kidney.
‘He was asked where it had happened…who had done it, what they looked like, how did it happen.
‘Questions I’m confident he knew the answers to, none that he wished to tell. He was adamant he had only been hit once as we searched for other wounds, but I said that he would likely only focus on the first strike as he tried to stop us searching for more wounds on a busy London street.
‘Was he just nervous of being half-stripped out in public? Just one puncture wound was found, and upon the arrival of LAS, he was taken to the nearest major trauma centre.
‘It was here that the reason for his nerves was revealed.
‘Yes, this was the first time he had been stabbed and so a new experience for him. And yes, a quantity of Class A drugs were found taped to his body.
’15 years old, carrying drugs and being stabbed in the middle of the afternoon during the…Easter holiday break.
‘I remember my own Easter holiday breaks, and at age 15, I was most likely studying for my GCSE’s and playing football with my younger brother and our best friend who lived next door.
‘This 15-year-old needs help. This 15-year-old needs to move.
‘This 15-year-old needs something to change before he ends up becoming another headline in the news because that’s the direction his life is heading if something doesn’t happen now!!’
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