An Aberdeen man has gone on trial accused of threatening a group of noisy youths outside his home with a sword and stabbing one of them in chest.
Paul Morris allegedly told the group he would take the sword to them – and then stabbed one of the group.
A court heard yesterday that if the blade had penetrated further into the 16-year-old boy’s chest, it could have killed him.
Morris, of Hazelhurst Terrace, Aberdeen, is on trial accused of wounding the boy with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
The 24-year-old denies the charge, as well as an alternative of unlawfully wounding the boy and making a threat with a bladed or pointed article which caused risk of harm.
The alleged incident happened on September 2 last year in Brockworth, Gloucester.
Prosecutor Julian Kesner said that at about 9.20pm, the alleged victim and six other teenagers gathered outside a block of flats and were talking.
He told Gloucester Crown Court: “After they had been speaking for a few minutes, Morris stuck his head out of a window and shouted down to them to be quiet.
“There was a short argument followed by the defendant going back into his flat.
“But the teenagers stayed where they were. They carried on talking.
“Minutes later, Morris his head out of the window a second time. This time he escalated what was going on and threatened the youths downstairs with a sword.”
He added that Morris then appeared with a “long knife”, which prompted most of the group to retreat.
However, he said the victim “unwisely stood his ground” and that the pair – who had never met – shouted at each other for 10-15 minutes.
Mr Kesner told the jury: “Morris started waving the knife at him. It was a dangerous situation. The defendant, knife in hand, was angry and shouted at the victim. The situation was getting more and more volatile because the teenager was angry as well. He was shouting back at the defendant.”
He added that Morris went back into the block, but was followed by the boy into his flat.
The prosecutor said: “He didn’t get further than a small hallway.
“The defendant, seeing him there, started wielding the knife at him. He then stabbed him with it.”
The court heard that the police were called, and when they interviewed Morris he told them he had been downstairs with the youths and then gone back to his flat, but was followed by the boy. He was “adamant” that he did not have a knife.
Mr Kesner maintained, however, that Morris had been seen stabbing the victim by some of the other youths.
He told the court: “The stab wound was in the chest to the left of the sternum. It was at the level of the nipple and the injury was 2cms (0.7in) wide.
“Because of the place where he was stabbed, by the heart, had the wound pierced deeper it could have been very serious indeed, possibly even murder. ”
The trial continues.
