Yahoo News Teen caged for 'slash attack' on his dad after being told it's 'time for mates to go home'
A Teesside teenager launched an unprovoked knife attack on his own dad.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was told by his dad to tell his friends to go home, at 11.30pm earlier this year. The dad called up the stairs to his son, saying he wanted to go to sleep.
The youth, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, got hold of a knife from the kitchen and began slashing his dad, who was standing with his back to the living room door, as his son burst in.
Teesside Crown Court heard that the dad had come home from a night out, when he saw numerous pairs of shoes by the front door. Another family member had gone upstairs an hour earlier and knocked on the teenager's bedroom door and said that it was time for his friends to leave, but there had been no response.
When the teen's dad arrived home, the relative asked him to shout upstairs.
The dad called, "tell your mates to go home, I want to go bed," Jenny Haigh, prosecuting, told the court.
She added: "The teenager then burst into the living room and started attacking his dad. He didn't speak but there was a lot of blood on the sofa."
The victim, who told police he felt pain in his shoulder and turned around, said: "I saw my son who looked like he was off his nut. Just not there at all. He had a knife and slashed my cheek. There was blood all over my face. "
The police and an ambulance arrived and the victim was treated in hospital for his lacerations. Ms Haigh said that PC Greenwood saw the teenager walking towards the house, with blood on his face, but that he gave her two different false names.
The court heard tha, there had been no arguments in the run up to the incident.
In a statement, the dad said: "This was an unprovoked attack by my own son, in front of another family member. I'm very upset. I've been a victim to a serious assault and I've lost my son. The whole family has been affected by this."
The teenager pleaded guilty to wounding.
In mitigation, Brian Russell suggested a prison sentence would mean that the teen would meet "older and more sophisticated criminals."
Judge Timothy Stead told the boy: "You had powerful feelings of anger and resentment against your father. I don't need to explore if those feelings were justified or not. When your father wanted you to ask your friends to leave, your reaction was not just criminal, it was extreme. It is clear that you struck out with the knife more than twice. This was a slashing attack."
The teen was sent to a young offenders' institution for 30-months.
