A tight-knit local community is reeling from the killing of a ‘lovely’ 16-year-old boy.
Kennie Carter was stabbed to death on Thirlmere Avenue, in Stretford, yesterday evening (Saturday January 23).
Four boys - aged between 15 and 17 - were arrested on suspicion of murder last night and a fifth has since handed himself in at the police station.
The fifth boy - a 17-year-old - has also been arrested on suspicion of murder.
A huge scene has been in place, with several streets taped off and two forensic tents in place, as detectives work to establish a motive for the shocking crime.
Throughout today, family and friends have been down to lay flowers and otherwise pay their respects.
One woman who spoke to Manchester Evening News at the scene was a family friend.
She was visibly upset as she described Kennie as a “lovely boy”, who “didn’t cause problems or harm to anybody”.
The 16-year-old seemed to be popular and much-loved within the local community but the woman said that, recently, teenagers from outside of Stretford have been coming to the area to cause trouble.
Only one of the three warrants carried out by GMP, that led to the arrests, was in Stretford.
The other two were in Old Trafford and Hulme, with scenes also in place there.
It is yet another sad and stark reminder on the horrors of knife crime, on the week that two teenagers were jailed for the murder of 15-year-old Reece Tansey in Bolton.
It is also the second high-profile teenage stabbing death in the borough of Trafford in the past few months - following the killing of 16-year-old Rhamero West in Norton Street, Old Trafford, back in September.
Going further back, Yousef Makki was fatally stabbed by a friend in Hale Barns in March 2019.
The impact of knife crime on young people in Trafford seemed to be at the forefront of the borough’s police Superintendent Caroline Hemingway, as she delivered an emotional statement to media outside Stretford Police Station.
She said: “Again, we see the utterly devastating consequences of knife crime - it destroys lives, families, and communities.
“It's so heart-breaking to see such a young life lost, and such young people suspected of being capable of a horrendous act of violence.
“We will not relent in tackling this problem in our society, and we are doing all we can with partners and the community to stop more young lives being lost on our streets.
“It's vital the public give us any information or concerns, knowing we'll treat it with the strictest confidence. This can be done by contacting police/Major Incident room, or Crimestoppers anonymously.
“A family is today grieving the loss of a much-loved young soul. If you know someone carrying a knife, look out for them: think of how their actions could cost someone a life, ruin a poor family's life, wreck their own life, and wreck the lives of their loved ones.”
Anyone with even the slightest information is asked to contact GMP in confidence via 101 or online - on www.gmp.police.uk - quoting incident 2529 of 22/01/2022.
Details can be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
