Figures paint bleak picture as loved ones of latest victims in east London and Manchester mourn

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Two families were left reeling by the loss of their teenage children over the weekend in stabbing attacks as new figures showed a 93% increase in the number of young people targeted by knives.

Police said Jodie Chesney, 17, a dedicated Scout, suffered a single stab wound to the back inflicted by a suspected teenage attacker who struck without saying a word as she sat in a park socialising with friends.

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Jodie died on Friday evening at around 9.25pm in St Neot’s Road in Harold Hill, Romford. She died one hour after the unprovoked attack.

Meanwhile in the affluent area of Hale Barns near Altrincham, police named a teenager murdered on Saturday evening as Yousef Ghaleb Makki, 17, from Burnage in Manchester, a pupil at Manchester Grammar school.

Two boys aged 17 remain in custody after being arrested on suspicion of murder. The murder is not believed to be related to gang activity or organised crime.

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Det Supt Phil Reade said: “Yousef’s family has understandably been left devastated by his death and the thoughts of the entire investigation team remain with them at this difficult time.”

“We are particularly keen to speak to anyone who was walking or driving in the vicinity of Gorse Bank Road or Sunbank Lane at around 6:30pm. These people may not realise it but they could hold vital information to assist the investigation and help Yousef’s family get the answers they deserve.”

The home secretary, Sajid Javid, will this week chair a scheduled meeting of police chiefs to discuss knife crime. In a statement he said: “Young people are being murdered across the country and it can’t go on.

“We’re taking action on many fronts and I’ll be meeting police chiefs this week to hear what more can be done.

An online fundraising page has been set up to help Makki’s family with funeral expenses.

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Tributes mention the murdered teenager’s generosity. One said: “You were such a kind person with so much potential. You were taken too soon. May God bless your soul. You will be missed “

In London, the Metropolitan police on Sunday said Jodie Chesney was with five friends in the park listening to music and socialising when attacked. Witnesses can remember seeing two young men in the park who left at 9pm. The two young men and the group Jodie was with did not speak to each other, or interact.

Police said: “Around 30 minutes later the pair returned to the park and walked straight towards the group, where one of the males stabbed Jodie once in the back.

“Nothing was said by the two suspects, who ran off in the direction of Retford Road.

“The suspect who attacked Jodie is described as a black male aged in his late teens. There is no further description of him at this stage, nor is there any description of the other male.”

Her boyfriend reportedly cradled Jodie after the attack.

DCI Dave Whellams, who is leading the murder hunt, urged witnesses to contact the police: “Although the description of the suspect is limited, I am certain that people will have seen the two males hanging around the park or running away from the scene – or will otherwise have noticed something suspicious. I need those people to call me.”

On Sunday, Jodie’s uncle, Dave Chesney, paid tribute and urged witnesses to come forward: “This was a totally random and unprovoked attack on a beautiful, lovely and quirky young girl with her whole life in front of her.”

Jodie had visited Downing Street while a Scout and taken part in a televised Remembrance commemoration in November last year.

An episode of Channel 4’s Dispatches, to be broadcast at 8pm on Monday and presented by the former commissioner of the Metropolitan police, Lord Hogan-Howe, claims that homicides using a knife committed by those under 18 years of age rose by 77% from 2016-2018 - from 26 to 46 incidents.

Rape and sexual offences where a knife was used by someone aged under 18 rose by 38% to a total of 46, and robbery offences where a knife was used rose by over 50%, to 999 crimes.

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Data from the NHS shows in the last five years the number of children aged 16 and under being treated for assault by a knife or other sharp objects rose by 93%, from 180 admissions in 2012-13 to 347 in 2017-18.

Hogan-Howe called for tougher action against the growing drugs market and for the government to reverse police cuts that mean officer numbers are 20,000 fewer than when the Conservatives took power in 2010.

Hogan-Howe said: “It’s important to focus attention on the exploitation of children in socially deprived areas. We need to increase police numbers in these areas and reduce the drug supply into the UK and its distribution including by county lines. Something law enforcement and government have failed to do.”

“It is vital that we unite to stop this senseless violence.”

• This article was amended on 6 March 2019. An earlier version gave figures for knife crimes committed by those under 18 years of age, as being committed by people 18 years and under. This has been corrected.