Two teen boys stabbed to death in ‘turf war’ were ‘innocent victims in wrong place at wrong time’, says witness
TWO teenage boys who were stabbed to death in an alleged turf war were “innocent victims in the wrong place at the wrong time”, a witness has said.
Talented footballer Max Dixon, 16, and pal Mason Rist, 15, were attacked in the street as they walked home on Saturday night by a group who then fled the scene in a car.
Locals tried to help the boys and held them in their arms as they lay bleeding, but they died later in hospital.
A bus full of horrified passengers saw the assault in Bristol.
Max’s mum Leanne Ekland posted a message on social media today saying she was “devastated”.
She added: “Our lives will never be the same without you my boy.”
It is thought the attack, in the city’s deprived Knowle West area, was retaliation for another incident in nearby rival suburb Hartcliffe.
Witness Jason Teakel, 45, saw the pair dying in the street outside his semi-detached home.
The self-employed mechanic, whose son, Thomas, 15, was a pal and attends the same school, said they were “100 per cent innocent victims”.
He added: “These poor kids were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“There is a postcode war going on around here between gangs, but Max and Mason were definitely not in any gang, I can assure you.
“My son has confirmed this. They were good boys who were not caught up in anything until the night they died.”
His wife, security worker Victoria, 45, also said a gang war is raging in the city.
She added: “I think what’s happened is a gang from here has gone over to Hartcliffe and caused some trouble, so the Hartcliffe gang has come here to teach them a lesson.
“Max and Mason have somehow ended up as the innocent victims.”
The boys were pupils at the Oasis Academy, in Brislington, about a mile-and-a-half from Ilminster Avenue, where they were stabbed.
One 18-year-old said he knew the two boys well and revealed: “Mason had only just lost his dad. I don’t know how his mum is coping.”
Max’s sister Kayleigh has also paid tribute to her “baby brother”, calling him “one of a kind”.
Forensics teams have been working at the scene and floral tributes were today left nearby.
Police have arrested three men aged 44, 22 and 20, plus a boy of 15, as well as seizing a vehicle.