‘We need to start from the roots and educate people about the consequences of carrying knives’
know where his enemy was.
And when Glen bravely tried to protect his pal, Firman stabbed him twice in the chest with the second weapon.
Despite desperate efforts to save his life, first by his friends and then by medics at South Tyneside Hospital, nothing could be done to keep Glen alive.
The following year Firman, then of Thornholme, Avenue, South Shields, was given a life sentence with a 16-year minimum term after admitting murder.
New dad Kevin Johnson was knifed to death in a senseless street stabbing.
The 22-year-old left his home on Sunderland’s Pennywell estate to confront three lads about their rowdy behaviour, which was disturbing his baby son, Chaise.
But the law-abiding demolition worker could never have imagined how dangerous his plea for quiet would become, or that the young thugs would be armed. PAT MCDOUGALL
Kevin was stabbed repeatedly after approaching the trio, in May 2007.
The teens, Dean Curtis, Tony Hawkes and Jordan Towers all denied murder but were found guilty by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court.
However, the court heard it was impossible to say who delivered the fatal blow.
Kevin’s dad, John Johnson, has watched on in sadness as news reports reveal a rise in knife crime elsewhere in the country – and closer to home.
The 67-year-old said: “It’s getting worse in London, Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. There’s still gang violence in our four or five big cities. And it still goes on up here, I still hear about it, people are getting away with it. There’s no deterrents. If they started giving them life for a life things might be different.”
Good Samaritan Deka Kennedy lost his life when he was stabbed to death by a stranger, near his home in South Shields.
The 29-year-old had gone to the aid of Paul Morrison’s then-girlfriend who was being attacked by her partner on Frederick Street, in January 2009.
Unbeknown to Deka, the thug was carrying a deadly flick-knife and with a single blow to the groin Morrison severed his victim’s artery and ultimately ended his life.
Speaking on the 10th anniversary of his son’s death, Deka’s dad, also called Deka, branded anyone who leaves the house carrying a blade a “coward”.
The 64-year-old said: “Nothing has changed since Deka died. Cowards will always go out with a concealed blade, but they are just cowards.
“Only a coward feels undressed without a blade.”
Morrison was jailed for life with a minimum of 17 years after a jury found him guilty of murder.
Samantha Madgin’s story
Samantha was 18 when she was stabbed to death by stranger Jordan Jobson in a Wallsend alleyway in August 2007.
The new mum had been enjoying her first night out since giving birth to son Callum when a disturbance broke out and 15-year-old Jobson armed herself with a knife.
Newcastle Crown Court heard how Jobson had been drinking vodka and snorting cocaine before she stabbed unarmed Samantha 10 times in the face, arms and chest and inflicted six other knife injuries.
One of the blows pierced her lung and severed a major artery near her heart and nothing could be done to save her. Jobson was convicted of murder after a trial. She was originally handed a minimum jail term of 15 years. But after two separate appeals that was reduced to 11.
What do police say?
Supt Barrie Joisce, of Northumbria Police, said: “As a force we remain committed to cutting crime and protecting the communities we serve. Our officers work hard every day to investigate crimes and catch criminals who use guns and knives. We will continue to proactively target offenders and bring them to justice. However, numbers don’t ever tell the whole story and I would ask that the public don’t just look at the overall increase in recorded crime.”