Two teen boys were stabbed to death in England by a mob armed with machetes after they were blamed for vandalism that they did not commit, prosecutors said in court this week.
On Jan. 27, Max Dixon, 16, and Mason Rist, 15, were killed in Bristol after a group of four teens and one adult believed they were responsible for an earlier attack where bricks were thrown at a home, as reported by The Independent. The act of vandalism had injured one woman.
On the first day of trial - the Prosecution claim Mason Rist (15y) and Max Dixon (16y) were killed in a case of mistaken identity
— Sangita Lal (@sangitalal) October 9, 2024
Both friends were stabbed on the street in January
Mason died just metres from his front door @itvnews pic.twitter.com/Bs6get5X4b
CCTV footage of the incident was shown to Bristol Crown Court jurors Wednesday. Four teenage boys were seen jumping out of an Audi Q2 and attacking Driston and Rist. The teens were then allegedly driven away by 45-year-old Antony Snook, as reported by The Guardian.
"As they drove past Max and Mason walking down the street, they thought they had spotted the people responsible for the earlier attack – or at the very least, people connected to it," prosecutor Ray Tully KC told the court. "They were entirely wrong about that. Max and Mason had absolutely nothing to do with any earlier incident and no connection whatsoever with those events."
The two teens were seen in the footage collapsing into the street. They later died of stab wounds. Two machetes allegedly used in the attack were recovered by investigators, as reported by ITV News.
"In short, we say they were in it together," Tully told the court. "They wanted at the very least to really hurt both boys. This was an attack based on the desire for revenge. They had gone armed and wanted to inflict harm on those they thought were responsible."
Snook, 18-year-old Riley Tolliver and the three other teens aged 15, 16 and 17 have been charged with two counts of murder.
The trial judge, Justice May, told the jurors that the teen defendants have special education needs.
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