Jermaine Cools was stabbed with a machete in Croydon, south London, on November 18, 2021.
The incident was caught on camera, and footage released by the police shows 16-year-old Marques Walker attacking before fleeing the scene.
Tragically, Jermaine was the youngest victim of knife crime in London that year and was unarmed at the time of the attack.
Cools was stabbed seven times by Marques Walker in a brutal and senseless attack.
The judge in the case, Sarah Munro KC, described the attack as extreme ferocity and stated that Walker had mercilessly attacked the 14-year-old victim.
She also noted that Jermaine must have been terrified and in agony during the attack.
Lorraine Dudek, the mother of Jermaine, expressed her disappointment and frustration that Marques Walker’s knife-carrying habit was not addressed earlier, calling it a “missed opportunity.”
She believes that if the issue had been dealt with sooner, Walker would not have had the chance to commit such a violent crime.
Dudek further stated that when young males are caught with a knife, the weapon may be confiscated, but they can often obtain another knife within a short time frame using social media platforms like Snapchat.
Her comments highlight the challenges in addressing knife crime and the need for effective solutions beyond confiscating weapons.
Cools had expressed concerns to his parents about knife crime before becoming a victim. After being stabbed in the chest, a passerby took him to the Mayday Hospital, but unfortunately, he did not survive his injuries.
