A teenager was seen "frothing at the mouth" before he slashed a boy with a machete in Chavasse Park. The victim, also 17, was knifed in the back and arm as he was set upon by a gang of youths near the park steps, only being spared serious injury due to his clothes having cushioned the blows.
The 17-year-old "ringleader" of the attack, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was freed from a young offenders' institute after six months behind bars but banned from Liverpool city centre. A judge told him: "So many times has the court seen situations such as this one resulting in the loss of life. You were out of control that day."
Attack near John Lewis
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Friday that a Liverpool ONE security guard was alerted to an incident on the steps leading to Chavasse Park at around 7pm on April 6 this year. There, he found a group of youths "appearing to be surrounding and pushing another male, who was by himself" on the footbridge near to John Lewis.
Ken Grant, prosecuting, described how the lone teenager "shouted racial abuse to one of the members of the group", adding: "This appeared to anger them. One of the males who appeared to be concealing something in his chest area was particularly angry. He has been described as frothing at the mouth. The lone male tried to run away from the group, but they ran after him. The lone male was stopped on the steps and thrown to the ground."
Members of the public were left "upset, visibly shaken and screaming" as they witnessed the victim being attacked with the machete after the other youths rained down punches and kicks. Police later found the teen with slash wounds to his back and left arm, although the blows were said to have been cushioned by the puffer jacket he was wearing.
Previous convictions and stabbing
The complainant identified the defendant, from Liverpool, as responsible for the stabbing and referenced a "fist fight" involving the other boy around a year-and-a-half earlier. He reported that he had been approached by a group of five to six males who punched and kicked him before the youth began swinging a large black machete at him.
The boy was arrested four days later on April 10, with a machete and a small quantity of cannabis recovered from him. He has three previous convictions for 10 offences, including receiving a youth referral order for possession of a bladed article in a public place in October 2025. This was subsequently varied to a youth rehabilitation order a matter of days before the machete attack.
Kate Morley, defending, told the court: "I do not seek to minimise the seriousness of what occurred, nor that this took place in a public place with families and children present.
"[The boy] was himself the victim of a serious stabbing in August 2024, requiring surgery and follow up physiotherapy. He was then targeted on social media as a grass for having given a victim statement. His family home was targeted. In April 2025, he was attacked by a large group in the city centre. In the week before this offence, an acquaintance was assaulted and told that the group responsible intended to hurt [the defendant].
"On the day itself, he was informed that there were fresh social media threats that he would be stabbed. It was in that state of fear that he retrieved a machete which an associate told him was hidden nearby. He had not attended the town centre with that machete, but it was nearby. He armed himself because he was frightened for his own safety.
"What then occurred was not, in my submission, planned or targeted. [The boy] became involved in defending a girl who he saw outnumbered in an unrelated dispute and became embroiled in an argument with the victim. He was racially insulted, and he lost control. The attack itself was relatively short in duration and the injury caused was, thankfully, superficial.
"[The boy] has spent significant periods of his young life failed in various ways by circumstances beyond his control, bullied and subjected to racism at school, the victim of serious violence on more than one occasion and, following his last offence, moved for his own safety, a placement from which he could not settle before returning to Liverpool and becoming involved in these offences. [The boy] has served the equivalent of a 12-month sentence.
"He is a child of significant and clinically recognised vulnerability who, in my submission, armed himself out of genuine fear, rather than any settled intention to cause serious harm. I invite the court, now that there is a stable and safe address outside of the Merseyside area, to impose a youth rehabilitation order that properly holds him to account, addresses the risks identified and gives him the opportunity for rehabilitation. Prior to this six months, he has never spent time in such a place."
Sentencing and second defendant
The youth admitted attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent, affray, possession of a bladed article in a public place and possession of cannabis. Wearing a white striped shirt in the dock, he was handed a two-year youth rehabilitation order with unpaid work, a six month curfew from 7pm to 7am, an eight-day programme requirement, a residence requirement and an exclusion requirement prohibiting him from entering the city centre.
Sentencing, Recorder Sarah Holt said: "It is obvious that you were the one who had a problem with [the victim] in this case. You confronted him outside John Lewis. You were told to leave it and walk away by the security operative. You completely ignored his advice.
"You ignored his attempts to reason with you and ignored his attempts to calm the situation down. Your anger that day, your loss of control, is clear for everyone who watches that CCTV footage to see.
"It is also clear that you were the ringleader that day, and you were the one with that machete. Backed up by your friends, you confronted him. You followed him. One of your group could be heard saying 'f***ing get him' as you ran from that upper level of Liverpool ONE to Chavasse Park.
"He was alone. He was unarmed. He was confronted, having been chased by your group, and he was thrown to the floor. He was assaulted by four people from your group, including you, four on one. He was kicked and he was punched repeatedly whilst he was crouching down on those steps, doing what little he could to protect himself.
"You can be seen taking a step back before swinging a full force kick at his head. You pulled a machete out from under your clothing. It was a very dangerous and frightening looking weapon. It was incredibly long. You made a deliberate decision that day to take that machete with you. What is really worrying in your case is that you have a previous conviction for carrying a knife in public.
"There were many people out and about in Liverpool ONE that day. As you chased after him, you were inches away from a lady who was on her own and was caught up right in the middle of your group as you ran all around her. Very young children were present too. A little girl could be heard asking 'what happened?'.
"People were as outraged by this disgraceful behaviour as they must have been upset by it. They were all going about their lawful business that day. They had every right to be there. The behaviour you displayed that day has no place in Liverpool city centre. It has no place anywhere. That kind of behaviour damages this city's reputation. Most importantly of all, it puts lives at risk.
"It is a matter of good fortune, due in no small part to the clothing he was wearing that day, that he was not more seriously injured. So many times has the court seen situations such as this one resulting in the loss of life. You were out of control that day.
"You have been diagnosed with autism. There are ongoing assessments in relation to ADHD. There are issues with your physical health too. You are someone described as a victim of bullying and racism. In 2024, you were stabbed and had to undergo surgery. In April 2025, you were attacked again by a large group of young people in this very city centre.
"What is very difficult, if not impossible, to understand is why you, knowing how serious and awful the consequences of carrying a knife are, would go on to behave in the way others behaved towards you. When he racially abused you, you lost your temper. But you responded by racially abusing him.
"While on remand, you have put your time to good use. You have worked in a trusted position. I am told that you have excelled in education. It is to your credit that you have worked hard and studied hard. If you put your mind to it, you are capable of having a very successful future.
"You have now been on remand for approximately five-and-a-half months. You have made excellent progress during your time on remand. You are said to be remorseful. I accept that remorse as being genuine."
A second teenager, Aaron Rodwell, previously pleaded guilty to violent disorder in relation to the incident. The 19-year-old, of Knowsley Road in Bootle, will be sentenced at a later date.
