London — Boxing world champion Tyson Fury called on the British government to clamp down harder on knife crime after his cousin was stabbed to death in what police called a “senseless” and “unplanned” attack.
In a social media post on Sunday, Fury called the scale of deaths caused by knives as a “pandemic” as he paid tribute to Rico Burton.
“My cousin was murdered last night, stabbed in the neck,” said Fury. “Idiots carry knives.
My cousin was murdered last night. Stabbed in the neck, this is becoming ridiculous idiots carry knives. THIS NEEDS TO STOP 🛑
🙏 RIP RICO BURTON 🙏 pic.twitter.com/AaQUAiJ358
— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) August 21, 2022
“This needs to stop asap. UK government needs to bring higher sentencing for knife crime, it’s a pandemic & you don’t know how bad it is until it’s one of your own!
“Life is very precious and it can be taken away very quick, enjoy every moment. RIP RICO BURTON may the lord God grant you a good place in heven [sic]. See you soon.”
Police said emergency services were called to a disturbance in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, at around 3am (2am GMT) on Sunday.
Officers arrived at the scene to find a 17-year-old man and a 31-year-old man with stab wounds receiving first aid from members of the public before police and paramedics took over.
Both men were taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary where the 31-year-old man died of his injuries while the 17-year-old remains in a serious but non-life threatening condition.
Two men, aged 21 and 20, have been arrested.
“This is without doubt a senseless attack and both victims should have returned home this morning after enjoying a night out with friends,” said Greater Manchester Police Superintendent Ben Ewart at a press conference.
Knife-enabled crime recorded by the police saw a 10 percent increase to 49,027 offences in the year ending March 2022, from 44,642 in the year ending March 2021.
AFP
