Get you up to speed: Boy, 14, stabbed girl who rejected him in chilling echo of Adolescence | News UK
A 14-year-old boy attacked a girl, also 14, with a knife in a shop in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, on March 15, after she rejected his advances. The girl sustained cuts to her face and neck during the incident, and a shopkeeper who intervened was also injured.
The boy was arrested shortly after the attack on March 15, and a knife was discovered in his possession. Detective Superintendent Ian Fletcher stated there is a significant focus on addressing teenage relationship abuse in the Gloucestershire area, which is not currently classified as domestic abuse under the law.
Detective Superintendent Ian Fletcher has stated that the incident highlights a concerning trend of teenage relationship abuse, noting the need for more awareness and classification under the law. The girl involved in the attack has expressed ongoing trauma, stating, “I’m scared and nervous anywhere that I go,” and her experience may prompt discussions on better support mechanisms for victims of such violence.
What remains unclear — It is unknown whether the incident will prompt changes in how teenage relationship abuse is classified under the law.
Boy, 14, stabs girl in shop after she rejects his advances in Gloucestershire
A 14-year-old boy repeatedly stabbed a girl in a ‘frenzied’ attack because she would not go out with him.
The teenager was ‘obsessed’ with the girl and followed her into a shop in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, on March 15.
Chilling CCTV footage shows him calmly walking up to her with his hands in his pockets before he pulls out a blade and aims several blows at her during a struggle.
The girl, also 14, suffered cuts to her face and neck in the attack and the brave shopkeeper was also knifed while trying to intervene.
The boy, of Wiltshire, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm. He was given a one-year referral order.
He was said to have started using fake social media accounts to send the girl messages after she turned down his advances months before the attack, in December 2025.
Detective Superintendent Ian Fletcher likened the case to TV drama Adolescence, in which a boy stabs a girl in his class to death after similarly being rejected.
The senior officer added: ‘This is an area that we in Gloucestershire are now looking at quite strongly in teenage relationship abuse.
‘It doesn’t get classified as domestic abuse currently in law because they were both under the age of 16.
‘So, this isn’t something that we would normally see in children. It’s something that we may see in adults – that obsessive behaviour leading to a violent attack.’
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In a victim impact statement the girl told Bristol Crown Court: ‘I’m scared and nervous anywhere that I go.
‘Even if someone puts their hand up next to me I flinch as I don’t know what they are about to do to me. I know this is as a result of the incident, as I wasn’t like this before.
‘I was in so much shock after it happened. I didn’t leave the house for a couple of days. I never thought something like this would ever happen to me, or anyone I know at all.
‘I’ve been having nightmares since; I relive the incident, but in these dreams it happens in different places. I sleep in the dark but when I wake, I constantly feel like there is a presence in the room. I can’t stop thinking about it.
‘This is going to affect my ability to trust people. I’m now getting dropped off to work because I don’t want to be outside on my own.
‘I shouldn’t have to feel like this as a teenager in my own area.’
Det Supt Fletcher said the knife attack could have ‘easily’ been fatal.
‘They were both really, really lucky,’ he added.
‘You can see from the CCTV that our young victim has been stabbed multiple times with a knife but she’s actually got away very, very luckily with minor injuries.
‘This could have been far more serious.’