Teen charged over stabbing of Gold Coast schoolboy

A TEENAGE boy has been arrested after spending several hours on the run following the stabbing of a Gold Coast schoolboy after a Facebook feud.

Stabbing

A TEEN was arrested last night over the savage stabbing of a Gold Coast schoolboy after a Facebook feud.

The boy was taken into custody after several hours on the run and was expected to be charged overnight.

The 15-year-old victim was rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital in a critical condition after being stabbed in a street about 200m from the school.

He had just finished Year 10 exams when he was attacked one street away from the school, at about 12.45pm.

Bleeding profusely, the boy staggered about 50m up the street with a mate before collapsing in front of a used car yard. Staff from a medical centre across the road rushed to perform first-aid in a move police said almost certainly saved the boy’s life.

Car salesman Mark Storay said he put a bandage on the boy, who was covered in blood, and ran over to a day hospital for help.

“I went in there and called out ‘emergency, there’s been a young guy stabbed’,” Mr Storay said.

“They were very quick to respond and came out with probably half a dozen staff and stabilised this young guy. Otherwise, he may well have lost his life, the amount of blood he lost.”

Shocked friends said the victim and his attacker, a former student of the school, had been feuding on Facebook before the violence.

“It started over a little argument on Facebook — it was just stupid,” one friend said.

“It could almost have ended someone’s life, you know. It’s ridiculous, it shouldn’t have happened.”

Another friend of the victim said: “It was horrible to see one of my mates I’ve known my whole life be stabbed and going to hospital. It’s the worst feeling.”

Detective Inspector Mark White, of the Child Protection Investigation Unit, said the victim had surgery for a single stab wound to the stomach and was under intensive care in the hospital.

He said the near-tragedy was a lesson for young people to be “really mindful about how they engage and use social media”.

“There are other ways to mediate issues without resorting to violence and, in this case, extreme violence,” he said.

“We definitely are concerned about this level of violence on the streets so close to a school.”

An Education Department spokesman said the principal had alerted the school about the incident using Facebook.

“The school is offering support to anyone in the school community that requires assistance,” the spokesman said.

Originally published as Teen charged over stabbing of Gold Coast schoolboy