TWO men have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a teenage boy was stabbed in Colchester city centre.
Essex Police arrested two men, aged 19 and 21, in the Greenstead area of the city yesterday evening after a 16-year-old boy was left fighting for his life earlier in the week.
The victim was rushed to hospital after officers were called to the junction of Queen Street and Priory Street at about 6.30pm on Tuesday.
His condition is no longer life-threatening, the force confirmed yesterday.
The two suspects remain in custody for questioning this morning.
A 20-year-old man was initially arrested on suspicion of attempted murder on Wednesday morning but he has since been released and will face no further action at this time.
A force spokesman said there will also be a continued police presence in the area behind Priory Street today as officers continue their investigations.
'Officers working tirelessly'
Det Ch Insp Greg Wood, of the Kent and Essex serious crime directorate, said: “This investigation continues to move at pace, with officers and staff from across the force working tirelessly.
“Significantly, two arrests were made last night, Thursday, January 11, and those men will be questioned in the coming hours.
“My team will continue to work to piece together the minutes which led up to this incident with a firm goal of securing justice.”
Ch Insp Colin Cox, district commander for Colchester, added: “This incident has quite understandably caused concern in our community, but I want our residents to know this investigation is running incredibly quickly.
“I would also remind people that incidents such as this are thankfully incredibly rare in Colchester and the work that we are doing to drive down knife crime is working.
“I know there may be opinions among the public that ‘everyone is carrying a knife’ – this could not be further from the truth.
“Locally, in Colchester, the number of knife crime offences is reducing with the latest available figures showing a decrease of 7.6 per cent.
“We’re not complacent – we know there is always more to do, and I want our community to know that tackling serious violence is a priority for us.”
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