A former gang member who “died” after being stabbed has warned that rising poverty and drug addiction is fuelling a terrifying return to knife crime.
Kenny Trainer believes recent progress in Scotland could be wrecked if teenagers in poor neighbourhoods cannot be given alternatives to hanging around the streets.
Kenny, who dedicated his life to diverting youngsters from violence, helps run the Bluevale Community Club in Dennistoun.
The site is close to the scene of the murder of 14-year-old Justin McLaughlin last weekend.
Justin’s death came a day after another brutal attack on a train, where a teenage boy’s head was jumped on, an attack believed to have resulted from gang rivalry in Glasgow’s east end.
And it has emerged that Justin was facing knife charges after a teenage boy was allegedly slashed in an unprovoked attack.
Ex-soldier Kenny, 35, said: “There is no doubt that the violence is coming back.
“Poverty and addiction are on the rise, so why would we not expect gang culture and knife crime to rise?
“It’s all part of the same problem.
“Covid has aggravated everything, heightened the tensions and put pressure on mental health too.
“I hear the young guys talking and I see the stories playing out on social media. It’s depressing to see.
“But we need to acknowledge it and make interventions where we can before we have another knife crime crisis.”
Kenny said initiatives like his own - which includes running football teams and a boxing club - are vital in giving youngsters a better path.
He said: “We can talk about a government response, which is important.
“But the most important reaction has to come at a community level, with people who speak the same language as young boys on the street.
“They need to know they can get better outcomes and status from positive stuff.
“Most importantly they need to be given things to do.
“I had a young guy come in here recently and I asked if he’d spent much time in youth clubs and he asked me what a youth club was. He’d never heard of it.”
Kenny was one of three teenagers stabbed during three Glasgow Hogmanay celebrations in the Merchant City in 2001, when he was just 16.
He was roaming the streets with fellow members of the Haghill Powery, a notorious gang that still exists.
He said: “I was stabbed in the stomach and was haemorrhaging so I ended up getting 16 pints of blood.
“I clinically died and was brought back by doctors.
“I spent three weeks in hospital and you’d have thought that would have turned my head but I went back to the same streets, same gang.
“I didn’t see anything else for me that would give me status and a sense of belonging.”
It was a stint in Polmont YOI a year later that Kenny credits with saving his life.
He said: “I got remanded for possessing a knife, which was an experience I didn’t enjoy and it was a wake-up call.
“I ended up with community service, working in a youth club and dealing with people who wanted to make a proper connection with me.
“My criminal record meant I had to wait two years to join the Army and that was the big turning point because I learned a lot about discipline and I got a real sense of purpose.”
Like many other youngsters, Kenny came from troubled background, having lost his father when he was 12.
He soon ended up in the gang and sought to impress by being at the head of fights.
He said: “We would run around on buses and we’d see a rival gang, they would smash the windows, we’d get out and have a fight and quite often people would get locked-up.
“It would start with a few hours in the police station then by the time you were 16 it would be a weekend.”
He added: "When I look back at the guys I hung around with then, most are still in Haghill, few have jobs and some have fallen into addiction. It's a cycle that's sparked by poverty and community initiatives need proper support to help people get control of their lives."
Kenny spent five years in the Army and completed a tour in Afghanistan before getting a job offshore.
As a volunteer at Bluevale, he works long hours, passionately seeking to give boys an escape from the destructive path he very nearly took himself.
Kenny said: “If you give people productive things to do, to take a pride in, you effectively give them a barrier from all the negative stuff that gangs breed.
“For me, the Army gave me a way of channelling aggression and it set me on a positive path.
“Similarly, you can really see the way boxing can be used with boys in a positive way to release adrenaline and feel they have qualities to offer that will be appreciated and respected.
“The young people who come here all help with work around the centre and they are all expected to engage with us in an honest way.
“If they’ve been taking drugs or running with gangs we can discuss that and we can talk through what alternatives we have to offer.
“It’s incredible what young people can achieve if people believe in them and they start to believe in themselves.”
Justin McLaughlin died after an alleged attack at High Street station in Glasgow on Saturday, October 16.
A 16-year-old boy has been charged with his murder.
It emerged that Justin had earlier been charged in connection with the knifing of a 17-year-old boy on August 28.
Another violent attack on a 13-year-old boy on a train in Glasgow is also being investigated.
The victim is being treated in hospital for serious injuries
Three teenagers aged 13, 15 and 16, had been charged in connection with attempted murder.
A further knife alert was sounded at Glasgow Central station on Thursday afternoon, which led to two arrests.
The station was locked down after an alleged altercation between three people
A force spokesperson said: “Officers were called to Union Street, outside Glasgow Central Station, at around 1.10pm on Thursday, 21 October, 2021, following an altercation involving three people.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “A man and a woman have been arrested in connection with the incident, and a second man taken to hospital for treatment.”
