‘The younger they are, the more chances of getting stabbed’: Scary reality for kids growing up in Elizabeth

Fed-up locals have revealed they are living in fear as youth gangs terrorise a northern suburb, following the stabbing of a 12-year-old boy on the weekend.

Fed-up residents are living in fear as youth gangs terrorise the streets of Elizabeth, with the stabbing of a 12-year-old boy on the weekend another wretched statistic in the surging crime wave.

A boy, 13, appeared in court on Monday over the knifing at a park near the Elizabeth Shopping Centre on Sunday.

Bella and Megan, both 18, went to school in Elizabeth and said they were not surprised the offenders were as young as 12 or 13.

The teenagers said it was commonly known among their peers that groups of children in that age group were the most likely to become violent or to be carrying knives.

“I find the younger they are, the more chances of getting stabbed because they don’t face as many consequences,” Bella said.

“It’s not hard (to get a knife).

Megan said her and a friend had recently been harassed at McDonald’s in Elizabeth by a group of youths.

“These like three or four 12-year-olds just start shouting at us, going ‘Oi, c**t, what the f**k are you looking at?’,” she said.

“I went to the train station and they followed me out, saying ‘Oh, you want to start a fight, do you?’

“And I’m like, ‘No, no, no’.”

“It’s always three or more of them. They’re short, I can see over the top of their heads, and they’re squeaky,” Megan said.

Jay Newell grew up in Elizabeth. He did not want his children caught up in the crime cycle. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Roy VanDerVegt

Jay Newell, a 43-year-old father-of-four, grew up in Elizabeth and said as a father he did not want his children, including his 16-year-old and 22-year-old, to get caught up in a poverty-induced crime cycle.

“Everyone is just struggling, so they go around and do crime,” said the scaffolder who now lives in Salisbury Park.

Two 18-year-old women and a 26-year-old woman, who did not want to be identified, said they worked in the shopping centre and carried around a self-defence keychain.

“It has a rape whistle, a safety alarm, a window breaker, a window cutter and seatbelt cutter,” one said.

Aline Seitz, 27, who is staying temporarily in a house in Elizabeth with friends, said she had heard before she moved in that the area could be “rough”.

“We heard from people this is quite a rough area, just from people living here,” she told the Advertiser.

Colby Lange, 25, and Aline Seitz, 27. Ms Seitz said he heard the area could be “rough”. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Roy VanDerVegt