Beckham, Rio Ferdinand and David James spoke to launch an anti-knife campaign called It Doesn't Have to Happen.
Beckham said: "We can help people, we can help youngsters, because we've got a voice that kids listen to."
The government says more than 2,500 arrests have been made and 1,600 knives have been seized since June under its action plan to tackle knife crime.
David Beckham told the news conference at the team hotel he had experience of knife crime.
His best friend's brother had been due to sign a contract with Leyton Orient when he was stabbed aged 13.
Beckham said: "One day he was walking the streets, saw a fight, went over to help, got stabbed in the back and was paralysed.
"No one wants to see the devastation I saw my friend and his family go through. We have to lend our support to this campaign."
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand attended the same school as murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence.
"I will never forget when the headmaster brought the school to a halt and said he had been killed. There was a sombre and chilling atmosphere.
"One day the guy was enjoying life and talking about his A-levels and the next day he was gone. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
He said getting tough on knife crime would help, but there also needed to be schemes to keep young people busy.
"Communities and youth centres also need to play a bigger part. Boredom can set in a lot of times, there is a lot of peer pressure and then something happens that everyone regrets," he added.
Showing posts with label Monday 18th August 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Monday 18th August 2008. Show all posts
Thursday, 21 August 2008
Teenagers injured in knife attack
Two teenagers were seriously injured in a knife attack in a car park in Watford - just hours before a high-profile anti-knife-crime drive in the town.
The 19-year-olds were walking from the Flag pub in Station Road in the early hours when they had an altercation with four men and a woman in a silver car.
The car stopped and they were chased into the pub car park and stabbed.
The attackers were described as four white men and one white woman, all in their late teens to early 20s.
One of the men was described as being of slim to medium build, 5ft 10in (178cm) to 6ft (183cm), clean-shaven, with dark, spiky hair. He wore blue jeans and a green t-shirt with a white motif on the front.
Another of the attackers has a skinhead haircut, and is thought to have been wearing a polo-type top with a striped pattern.
The woman was in her late teens to early 20s with shoulder-length blonde hair.
Both victims, who are from the Watford area, were taken to hospital for treatment. One has been released while the other remains in a stable condition.
The 19-year-olds were walking from the Flag pub in Station Road in the early hours when they had an altercation with four men and a woman in a silver car.
The car stopped and they were chased into the pub car park and stabbed.
The attackers were described as four white men and one white woman, all in their late teens to early 20s.
One of the men was described as being of slim to medium build, 5ft 10in (178cm) to 6ft (183cm), clean-shaven, with dark, spiky hair. He wore blue jeans and a green t-shirt with a white motif on the front.
Another of the attackers has a skinhead haircut, and is thought to have been wearing a polo-type top with a striped pattern.
The woman was in her late teens to early 20s with shoulder-length blonde hair.
Both victims, who are from the Watford area, were taken to hospital for treatment. One has been released while the other remains in a stable condition.
Family in tribute to stab victim
The family of a 17-year-old youth stabbed to death in a street fight in south London have paid tribute to the "energetic and helpful" teenager.
Nilanthan Murddi's sister Santhiya said her parents were "destroyed" by their only son's death.
A 31-year-old man arrested in connection with Nilanthan's murder has since been released on bail.
Nilanthan was among six to eight people involved in the fight in Croydon early on Saturday.
The teenager died three hours later in hospital. A post-mortem examination found he died from a single knife wound to the neck.
The Murddi family are from Sri Lanka but have lived in Britain for more than 20 years.
Police want to contact a mini-cab driver, believed to have been in a blue Ford Mondeo, who stopped at traffic lights near the scene of the fight at about 0100 BST on Saturday.
Police believe his passenger, a white man, argued with him and "exchanged words" with Nilanthan and his friends who were standing nearby.
A Met Police spokeswoman said: "The suspect returned a little while later and was again involved in an exchange of words with Nilanthan and his friends, which resulted in the victim being injured."
Nilanthan was the 23rd teenager to be killed in a stabbing or a shooting in the capital this year.
Nilanthan Murddi's sister Santhiya said her parents were "destroyed" by their only son's death.
A 31-year-old man arrested in connection with Nilanthan's murder has since been released on bail.
Nilanthan was among six to eight people involved in the fight in Croydon early on Saturday.
The teenager died three hours later in hospital. A post-mortem examination found he died from a single knife wound to the neck.
The Murddi family are from Sri Lanka but have lived in Britain for more than 20 years.
Police want to contact a mini-cab driver, believed to have been in a blue Ford Mondeo, who stopped at traffic lights near the scene of the fight at about 0100 BST on Saturday.
Police believe his passenger, a white man, argued with him and "exchanged words" with Nilanthan and his friends who were standing nearby.
A Met Police spokeswoman said: "The suspect returned a little while later and was again involved in an exchange of words with Nilanthan and his friends, which resulted in the victim being injured."
Nilanthan was the 23rd teenager to be killed in a stabbing or a shooting in the capital this year.
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