Four teenagers remain in custody as police continue to investigate the stabbing of two teenage boys in Moor Park.
The attack took place on Monday (31 March) afternoon around 4pm and saw police close off Blackpool Road for more than 24-hours as part of their investigations.
Detectives are continuing to hold and question four teenagers who have been arrested on various offences as they treat the knife attack as attempted murder.
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A Preston Police spokesperson confirmed no charges had been made against any of the arrested teenagers at this stage and the 15-year-old victim remains in hospital in a ‘serious but stable’ condition.
The second 15-year-old who was stabbed is not in hospital and does not have serious injuries, according to police.
Who has been arrested?
During Monday evening police confirmed they had made three arrests.
A 14-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and affray.
Two 15-year-olds were also arrested, one on suspicion of section-18 wounding and affray and the other on suspicion of assisting an offender.
During Wednesday (2 April) afternoon a fourth boy, aged 16, was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit section-18 wounding.
All four are continuing to be held in custody.
Police continue to appeal
Detective Chief Inspector Sean Kelly-Martland of South CID said: “This incident has left a young man with some very significant injuries and while we have now made a number of arrests as part of our investigation, I would continue to appeal to anyone who may have seen what happened or who has any information of footage which may assist us piecing together the events of yesterday afternoon to get in touch.
“We are particularly interested in seeing any dashcam or CCTV footage of Blackpool Road, and Moor Park Avenue, both near to Moor Park, between 3:30pm and 4:15pm.”
Police continue to appeal for information relating to the stabbing close to Moor Park. If you have any information, you can contact 101 – quoting log 1001 of 31st March.
Youth leaders and campaigners react to stabbing
The chief executive of Preston Youth Zone and a former senior Lancashire Police officer Tim Jacques told Blog Preston the attack was ‘heart-breaking’ to see.
He said it confirmed the need for enhanced youth provision in the city to give young people a space they can call their own.
While Byron Highton, who now runs The JJ Effect a community interest company delivering anti-knife crime sessions in schools, hit out at the ‘gangster culture’ he said was sweeping not just Preston but the country.
Lancashire County Council – who have responsibility for children and youth services in Preston and the majority of the county – declined to comment as they said they couldn’t under the election period rules.
But they pointed to recent crackdowns by their Trading Standards team and other agencies on stopping the sale of knives to children.
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