UK’s zombie knife epidemic laid bare
X-ray reveals near-fatal attack by teen thug
POLICE have released a shocking image of a zombie knife which was plunged so deep into a man’s buttocks it had to be surgically removed.
The victim was stabbed by Aaron Toward-Parker, 18, in a showdown between love rivals in a park .
Police released an X-ray of the embedded blade in the unnamed victim after the teenager was found guilty at Swindon Crown Court of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Detective Sergeant Scott Anger of Wiltshire Police said: ‘This was a violent assault that could easily have had serious, if not, fatal consequences.
‘The victim had to be taken to hospital by ambulance with the knife still in place, then have an operation to have it surgically removed. Luckily, he has made a good recovery.’
The court heard how TowardParker’s friend Jack Parfitt had arranged to meet his love rival – a colleague of his pregnant girlfriend – after becoming upset at seeing the pair flirting.
Parfitt, taking Toward-Parker for support, arrived at the scene at Covingham Square, Swindon on bikes around 9pm on January 20 this year.
Parfitt, then 17, identified his target and opened fire with a BB gun. After hitting his target, he told Toward-Parker to ‘back out the shank’ – an instruction to his friend to get out his knife, the court heard.
Toward-Parker, of Bath Road, Swindon, attacked the love rival’s friend, saying: ‘ Don’t think I won’t bore you out with the knife’, before plunging it into his buttocks.
He denied using those words at the trial, claiming he had lost his grip on the weapon as they scuffled and it accidentally penetrated his victim.
But a jury took an hour to find him guilty and he was remanded in custody for sentencing in October, when he is expected to receive a lengthy jail term.
Parfitt, of Swindon, admitted unlawful wounding and possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. He was sentenced to a two-year youth rehabilitation order as he has already served eight months on remand.
Now 18, Parfitt must complete a weapons awareness course, do a two-month night-time curfew and 40 hours of unpaid work.
Judge Peter Crabtree said: ‘ This was an attack which involved a significant degree of premeditation – the use of a weapon and having Mr TowardParker there for support.’ Det Sgt Anger added: ‘The two defendants went with the intent to harm those they had gone to meet.’
The Office of National Statistics has revealed that knife crime in England and Wales has hit a record high, up 8 per cent on last year, and that police have recorded over 43,000 incidents involving knives or sharp objects in the year to March.
The number of women carrying knives has risen by 73 per cent in the last five years, while in the past year in rural areas knife crime has risen by up to 50 per cent.