‘Obsessed’ boy, 14, repeatedly stabbed schoolgirl because 'she rejected him for a date'
The 14-year-old girl sustained cuts to her neck, hands and face, and bruising to her back
An "obsessed" boy who stabbed a schoolgirl multiple times after she rejected him for a date has been handed a three-year restraining order.
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The 14-year-old boy had briefly dated the girl, also 14, before she ended the relationship.
He then carried out what was described in court as a “horrifying” attack at a shop in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, in March.
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent, inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent, and possessing a bladed article in a public place.
He was also handed a one-year referral order at Gloucester Crown Court.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, the girl said: “I’ve been having nightmares since. I relive the incident, but in these dreams it happens in different places.
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"I sleep in the dark but when I wake, I constantly feel like there is a presence in the room. I can't stop thinking about it.
The court heard the boy, from Wiltshire, had waited in a car park before following the girl into a shop on 15 March.
While she waited at the counter, he struck her "multiple times" with a 6 inch kitchen knife, in an attack captured on the CCTV.
The shopkeeper, who was in the store at the time, attempted to grab the boy and pull him away but was struck in the back with the knife.
The girl continued: "I'm scared and nervous anywhere that I go. Even if someone puts their hand up next to me I flinch as I don't know what they are about to do to me."
"I was in so much shock after it happened. I didn't leave the house for a couple of days. I never thought something like this would ever happen to me, or anyone I know at all," she added.
"This is going to affect my ability to trust people. I’m now getting dropped off to work…because I don't want to be outside on my own. I shouldn't have to feel like this as a teenager in my own area."
As a result of the attack, the 14-year-old girl sustained cuts to her neck, hands and face, and bruising to her back.
The boy fled the scene but was found by police close to the location with a knife in his jeans pocket and a fresh cut to his hand.
Detective Superintendent Ian Fletcher, Head of Serious and Complex Investigations, said: "This was a frenzied attack that took place in broad daylight.
"The victim was stabbed multiple times with a knife and has been very, very lucky to get away with only minor injuries. We could easily have been looking at a fatal incident if that knife had pierced her anywhere else.
"My hope now is that the victim is able to move on from these deeply traumatic events and start to rebuild her life again."