"Knife crime has torn our family apart", said the sister of Lee Cooper, a man who was stabbed through the heart in the city centre. The grieving sister said life will never be the same for her and the rest of the family after learning about the fatal stabbing of the 28-year-old.
The dreadful night took place on a Saturday night, when Mr Cooper suffered one blow from a samurai sword which went through the heart on September 14, 2019. He died that night on the street outside the House of Fraser store near the Victoria Centre.
Ethan Austin was tried and convicted of the murder in March 2020 and was ordered to serve a minimum of 21 years behind bars. The defendant's father Daniel Austin, 46, of Westleigh Road, Broxtowe, and his sister Shelby Austin, 26, of Pyatt Street, The Meadows appeared to the Nottingham Crown Court on March 16 and pleaded guilty for assisting Ethan Austin.
Almost three years following the tragedy, Zoe Cooper said that the pain of losing her brother is still unbearable and hard to deal with. The mum of five from Edwalton said her life changed forever after the loss of Lee Cooper.
The 43-year-old said: "My daughter had to change schools. There was so much that changed completely.
"Knife crime has torn our family apart and life will never be the same without Lee. It will never be the same for anyone."
She said that she "cannot escape" the pain and grief. "I feel guilty to not be grieving", the heartbroken sister added.
"I know I have to move forward, but it is difficult", she added. It was the tragic incident that left her with wounds that she cannot recover from, Ms Cooper says.
"I think education is crucial here. Knife crime affected both the families of the victims and criminals. Who do you really blame?"
She has joined the calls for action to be taken to prevent knife crime in Nottingham. Ms Cooper said that the dangers of knife crime should be discussed in schools and within the family to educate the new generations.
Unfortunately, she is not the only one whose life turned upside down following a fatal stabbing. Zoe Cooke, the mum of a murdered man, said nothing will ever bring her baby back.
However, she is willing to campaign against knife crime so her son "did not die in vain". Byron Griffin was only 22-years-old son and had a whole life ahead of him.
But the young man tragically died in a street attack that lasted just a minute. He was found stabbed in Eyre's Garden in Ilkeston, Derbyshire on July 4.
Now, the heartbroken mum has bravely taken the lead and is actively campaigning in introducing bleed kits in schools across Nottinghamshire. She contacted 346 schools across the county.
She told Nottinghamshire Live: "Parents need to understand that if they do not educate their children about it, they will eventually learn about it from social media. And that is not good."
The 48-year-old added: "As soon as the children understand right from wrong, they need to be made aware about knife crime. The trouble is that we now have young people who carry on knives because they are scared of other people who have knives on them.
"When you hear about stabbings in Nottingham, it does not come as a shock anymore", the grieving mum said. To raise awareness about the dangers surrounding knife crime, Ms Cooke has organised for a fundraising event to take place in schools across the county to raise money for bleed kits.
"We do not want to scare them off, but it is important to educate them. We need to take responsibility."
Damian Painton, the principal for Spencer Academy, where Byron was attending as a pupil, said: "Zoe's campaign is such an important one, raising awareness and taking positive steps to protect young people. At Rushcliffe, we're delighted to be joining many other schools in wearing red on 4th July. Not only does it enable us to support this important fundraising effort, but it also gives us an opportunity to remember Byron."
Elsewhere in Nottingham, another concerned parent said her 12-year-old is due to start counselling after an alleged incident where she was threatened with a knife while playing outside. Sophie Stevenson, a carer from Gedling, added: "My daughter has just started going to school again. We are taking baby steps."
It comes after a young boy reportedly came up to her 12-year-old and threatened to "slit her throat" before waving a knife. The 29-year-old said: "Campaigning against knife crime is so important and parents need to be aware of this. They should not think that it will never happen to them - it happened to my daughter.
"It happens to innocent people, it happens to children. Everyone is affected by this and we need to take action."
Hyacinth Francis, who runs the Chayah Project in St Ann's, said: "People think that knife crime is a taboo subject - but we need to open up the conversation and educate children about it. I think it should be the parents and siblings of those affected who should be invited to speak out about it.
"People need t understand the pain it leaves behind. Those who experienced it know how it feels like."
As part of a national campaign to combat knife crime, educational events at local schools and colleges and proactive public engagement including the use of metal-detecting walk-through knife arches will take place across Nottinghamshire. This operation has commenced on Monday (May 16) and will last a week.
In support of the week of action, members of the public will also be able to play their part to deposit knives in the amnesty bins sited in police stations, and shared locations in the city and county without fear of prosecution during the week. Weapons handed in will be destroyed.
Superintendent Kathryn Craner, Nottinghamshire Police’s knife crime lead, said: “I’m pleased at how successful our partnership approach has proved to be, however I want to reassure people that we remain totally committed to driving down knife crime. We know how devastating just one knife crime incident can be for everyone involved, as well as the wider community.
“That’s why we treat it so seriously and continue to do everything in our power to keep people safe as well as taking robust action against those who choose to carry knives and use them to harm others.”
