Community leaders have branded the stabbing of a teenage boy “deeply worrying” and “unheard of” after he was attacked at a city bus stop.
Police said the 15-year-old victim was stabbed “a number of times” in the back outside St Anthony’s Church, in Cadley Causeway, Fulwood, Preston, at around 3.45pm yesterday.
Coun John Bruton, who represents Cadley ward, said the stabbing was “deeply worrying”.
He said: “At that time it’s likely to have been exactly as the schoolchildren were coming out. They queue up there to wait for buses.
“There will have been a lot of people around there at that time. I’m very sorry to hear about it.”
He said Mill Lane Park, which is opposite the church, had experienced problems with anti-social behaviour.
But he said an incident of this nature was “uncharacteristic” of Cadley.
Coun Bruton said: “I’ve not heard of any incidents where young people with knives have been on the park.
“Like a lot of spaces we have in urban areas, the park does attract teenagers, sometimes involved with alcohol and anti-social behaviour, but we are very fortunate that the local police are very responsive to that and have dealt with them very well, in cooperation with park staff and residents.
“I’d like to know what is at the root of this, but we won’t know until the police investigate.
“Hopefully it’s a one-off thing.”
Fellow Cadley ward councillor John Potter, who lives in nearby St Catherine’s Drive, agreed that such a crime was “unheard of” in the area.
He said: “I got a call from my fiancée saying something had happened, because as she came back from work at about 5.30pm, there was still police ticker tape around.
“It’s awful. I’m really surprised because Cadley has such a low level of crime. It’s an area with a lot of pensioners and a lot of good schools.
“Even the issues on the park had settled down and they weren’t anything anywhere close to this severity.”
It is understood the incident is not thought to be linked to the schools in the area.
The victim was taken to Royal Preston Hospital for treatment, where his injuries were said to be serious but not thought to be life threatening.
A 17-year-old boy from Preston was arrested on suspicion of wounding with intent and possession of a knife and is currently in police custody.
Detective Inspector Paddy O’Neill, from Preston CID, said: “We’re at the very early stages of the investigation and are looking into the circumstances of exactly what’s happened.
“We believe there was a second offender involved, so I’d appeal to anybody that has seen the incident or has any information that could assist with our investigation to come forward and call us on 101.”