The father of a teenager who stabbed a fellow pupil at school has expressed his devastation, believing his son was “radicalised” by extreme online content. The boy, now 16, was convicted of attempted murder last week after a trial at King's Lynn Crown Court revealed his hatred of women and fascination with serial killers.
Speaking to the BBC, the boy's father, identified as John, appealed for tighter controls on online material, stating he did not wish to “absolve” his son but that he believed “a culture of violence and horror” had influenced him. The government has stated its commitment to protecting children from online radicalisation, citing the Prevent anti-terrorism scheme and the Online Safety Act.
John apologized to the 15-year-old victim and her family, saying, “We're so very sorry for what happened.” He expressed fears that young men are being radicalized towards violence and hatred, noting, “You can think… it can never happen to my family or my son couldn't be involved, but that's what we thought and that wasn't the case.”
The trial heard that the attacker, who cannot be named due to his age, dressed in black and wore a face mask before stabbing the girl with a kitchen knife on March 11. The victim spent one night in the hospital but was not seriously injured. John described his own “rising feeling of panic” on the day of the attack, fearing what his son might do or what might happen to him. He admitted to being devastated upon learning the full details during the trial.
John described his son as shy but kind and thoughtful, with a group of friends, before he began spending more time alone as a teenager. He was unaware that his son had searched the internet for material on mass shootings and serial killers, including the night before the attack. "It was shocking and devastating that he would have been looking at that kind of stuff," John said. While parental controls were in place on his son's devices, they were primarily to limit screen time, and John felt there was nothing to indicate sinister activity. "Hindsight's a marvellous thing, isn't it?" he reflected on whether they should have monitored their son's browsing history more closely.
Police found notes written by the boy detailing wider attack plans, mentioning motives such as misanthropy, misogyny, suicide, and bullying. John described reading these notes as making him feel “physically sick” and that his son seemed like a “different person.” His son reportedly told him that his interest in extreme violence began after seeing a clip from the TV drama Dexter, which features a vigilante serial killer. John believes that algorithms then fed him more similar content.
He called for tighter regulations on children’s access to online material, stating, “There's the radicalisation of young men in particular. They talk about it with regards to terrorism and political ideology, but [there's] a radicalisation towards violence and hatred.” He questioned if enough resources are allocated to monitoring such content.
Ofcom, the internet regulator, emphasizes that tech companies are responsible for child safety online. They offer advice to parents, including regular conversations about online activities, ensuring children use their real age for online services, teaching them how to report and block harmful content, and utilizing parental controls.
Despite notes expressing hatred of women, John stated his son had never shown evidence of misogyny and had always gotten along well with women in his life. The attack has drawn parallels to the Netflix drama "Adolescence," which depicts a school stabbing. John acknowledged that discussions around the show had prompted conversations with his son about the