Teen left victim with life-threatening injuries after noise row sparked Newcastle city centre stabbing

Joseph Gray, who stabbed a man near Newcastle Civic Centre
-Credit: (Image: Northumbria Police)


A teenager left a man with life-threatening injuries by stabbing him in the stomach in Newcastle city centre when he complained about the noisy antics of him and his friends.

Joseph Gray and others had gathered near the Civic Centre on a Monday afternoon to socialise and he had been drinking. The victim said their loud behaviour was upsetting his dog and approached the teen, who mocked the way he spoke.

Newcastle Crown Court witnesses said the man uttered a threat and Gray then took out a small pocket knife which he had been carrying routinely and plunged it into his stomach. The victim suffered heavy internal bleeding, collapsed, needed emergency surgery and is continuing to suffer "paralysing" pain and his injury has had a huge impact on his life.

READ MORE:Gateshead house transformed into drugs production factory with cannabis plants worth up to £100,000

READ MORE:Parents react as Monkseaton High School faces closure due to cash and pupil number concerns

Liam O'Brien, prosecuting, said the stabbing happened on the early evening of July 10 last year. He told the court: "The complainant was nearby and took exception at the level of noise the accused and his friends were making and began remonstrating with the accused and his friends. He said they were scaring his dog.

"The accused began mocking him, imitating the way he appeared to be slurring his words. That angered the complainant, who made a verbal threat to the accused and they came within touching distance.

"At that point the accused took a small pocket knife he had concealed on him, opened it and thrust it forcefully into the complainant's stomach." The knife penetrated his stomach, lacerated an artery and caused a small laceration to his liver.

The victim initially didn't realise he had been stabbed rather than punched but within a short time he collapsed. He was bleeding heavily and was taken by ambulance to the RVI.

A CT scan revealed he had sustained a life-threatening injury and was bleeding heavily internally. He had to be sedated and had emergency surgery.

Police outside Newcastle Civic Centre following a stabbing
Police outside Newcastle Civic Centre following a stabbing -Credit:ChronicleLive

He said in a victim impact statement the attack had worsened existing mental health issues and added: "I received horrific injuries that have affected me every day since and will continue to affect me for the rest of my life. I've had to attend hospital on multiple occasions due to complications with my injury."

He said he still suffers "paralysing" pain at times which "won't go away". And he said it has affected his ability to care for his elderly mother, which he said "breaks his heart".

He added: "The assault has changed my life in so many ways, physically and mentally. In one moment my life was changed forever. My life will never be the same again."

Keep up to date with all the latest court news from the North East with our free newsletter

Gray ran away after carrying out the stabbing and was found by police hiding in an alley behind M&S and was arrested. He had been arming himself with a knife routinely following an incident in Paris when he was subjected to a group attack.

Gray, 19, of Brierdene Crescent, Whitley Bay, was cleared of wounding with intent by a jury but admitted unlawful wounding and possessing an offensive weapon.

Sending him to a young offenders institution for 21 months, Judge Tim Gittins said: "You had an altercation with a man on the afternoon of the 10th of July at the Civic Centre or the grounds immediately in front of it. He took exception to the noisy antics of you and your friends.

"You had been drinking to an extent, albeit I don't think you were intoxicated to any great degree. When he requested quiet, for his sake and his dog's sake, your reaction was to mock him.

"When he approached you and threatened serious violence to you, the sensible thing would have been to back away. What you did, following the degree of provocation, was to produce the knife you had been carrying routinely, having opened the blade and you then used it on him with a single but forceful thrust to his stomach."

The judge said it was fortunate other youths in the area came to the victim's aid and that the emergency services were quickly on the scene to save his life.

Andrew Walker, defending, said: "He is a troubled young man who has been, for many years, racked with anxiety for no discernible reason." Mr Walker said carrying the knife was a "psychological security blanket" but "wholly inappropriate".

He added that witnesses had claimed the victim had approached Gray and threatened to bite his nose off before he was stabbed.

The court heard Gray has mental health issues, including PTSD after being subjected to the attack in Paris.