Parents of Pakenham stabbing victim say son came close to death
The parents of teenager allegedly stabbed in Pakenham while defending his girlfriend say their son could have died from the terrifying attack.
South East
Don't miss out on the headlines from South East . Followed categories will be added to My News.
Parents of a Coronet Bay teenager who was allegedly stabbed in the chest while defending his girlfriend say their son came close to dying from the horrifying attack.
Ethan Tirant, his girlfriend and bestfriend were eating dinner at KFC in Pakenham on Monday when police say he was stabbed.
According to Ethan’s parents, a group of about six boys had been making lewd gestures towards Ethan’s girlfriend when Ethan asked them to stop.
Him, his girlfriend and mate left the restaurant but the group followed before a 13-year-old allegedly stabbed him in the chest with a knife.
As Ethan fell backwards his accused attacker allegedly yelled “You’ve just been shanked (sic) bro!” before him and others reportedly fled the scene.
Ethan’s panicked girlfriend rang his parents, Lisa and Leroy Tirant, as he lay bleeding on the ground.
“We got a phone call from his girlfriend within minutes of it happening so she was hysterical and we were trying to figure out what the hell was going on,” Mr Tirant said.
He said his 18-year-old son became overwhelmed with panic and emotion.
“He was sending messages to his best friends saying he loved them because he thought he was going to die,” Mr Tirant said.
Ethan was taken to the Alfred Hospital where he underwent emergency open heart surgery for a punctured lung and aorta.
Mr Tirant said if the wound was one millimetre across on each side, Ethan would have died.
He was then placed into an induced coma but taken out the next morning when the bleeding stopped.
“He is now on oxygen through his nose as he is still having problems breathing as his lungs won’t inflate,” Mr Tirant said.
“He is also having lots of issues with pain management so they are having to alter that every few hours.”
Ethan, who has also been diagnosed with Covid, has been put into a separate ward for isolation where his family are not allowed to visit.
Mr Tirant said he was extremely angry about the incident and his son had a long road to recovery.
A Pakenham teenager was charged with intentionally causing serious injury, assault and weapon related offences on Wednesday.
He was bailed to attend a Children’s Court at a later date.
Police said the investigation remains ongoing.
