Two Teenage Boys Stabbed in Manchester Attacks
Manchester has faced two recent stabbings involving children.
On 28 October 2025, a 13-year-old was stabbed beside the short-stay car park at Manchester Piccadilly in the middle of the day. He was treated in hospital and has since been discharged. Four boys, aged 12 and 13, were arrested and later bailed while enquiries continue.
Just six weeks earlier, on 15 September 2025, Mohanad Abdullaahi Goobe (15) was fatally stabbed on Moston Street, Moss Side. Two boys, aged 14 and 15, have now been charged with murder. Another 15-year-old was previously charged.
These are children.
These are not headlines to move past. They are a warning: our children, ages 12 to 15, are getting close to knives as victims, witnesses, and suspects. That should stop all of us in our tracks.
What must change and soon
Retailers & delivery partners:Slow down age checks at the till, at collection, and at the doorstep. If staff are unsure, back them to refuse. Record every refusal. Review CCTV. Flag repeat attempts across sites and routes.
Parents & carers: Ask your young people directly: “Do you feel safe? Has anyone asked you to carry?” Know where help lives: school safeguarding leads, local youth services, and anonymous reporting options.
Schools & youth settings: Create easy, low-barrier ways to speak up. Teach practical steps. Make it an open conversation in PSHE lessons.
Friends & bystanders: If you know someone is carrying, tell a trusted adult or report anonymously. Silence isn’t protection. It raises the odds of harm.
Community & transport hubs: Put community workers and trusted supporters where young people are—stations, parks, and high streets—especially at school-run times. Increase visible security and police presence.
Platforms & policymakers: Close loopholes in remote sales. Require robust age checks at hand-over, not just at checkout.
What Serve Legal will do
We will continue to apply pressure on the authorities and retailers to intensify knife-sale compliance checks across Greater Manchester and the North West—store, online, and delivery.
We will continue to provide rapid feedback so fixes can happen immediately, not next quarter.
We will continue to offer support for front-line staff on refusals and de-escalation.
We will continue investing into our safer streets audits which cover safety perception and environmental mapping reports.
These are children. They deserve to get to school, wait for a train, and meet friends without fear. We’ll do our part with urgency and care and we’re asking everyone in the chain to do the same.
