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A TEENAGER became “angry” and repeatedly stabbed a stranger who called him Harry Potter during an early morning argument, a court has heard.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, lost his temper with Liam McKechnie, who was 21 at the time, at a bus stop in Princes Street, Edinburgh on March 17 2024.

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A teen repeatedly stabbed a stranger who told him ‘Calm down Harry Potter’[/caption]

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The high court in Edinburgh heard the youth was wearing ‘large spectacles’[/caption]

The high court in the city heard on Tuesday how the youth was wearing a “large pair of black rimmed spectacles” when he encountered Mr McKechnie.

Prosecutor Margaret Barron told the court how the pair became involved in a “verbal argument” moments before the teenager struck his victim with a blade he had been carrying.

Ms Barron told the court about the moment that Mr McKechnie made a reference to JK Rowling’s boy wizard.

She added: “The complainer said to the accused ‘calm down Harry Potter’ after which the altercation began.

“During this altercation, the accused removed a knife from his pocked and stabbed the complainer to the torso. At this point Mr McKechnie and his friends were unaware that he had been injured.

“Some people attempted to break up the scuffle and at some point a pair of glasses worn by the accused fell to the ground.

“The complainer felt a pain in his chest area and lifted up his top to reveal a stab wound to his torso. He showed the injury to his friends telling them he had been stabbed.”

The story emerged after the youth pleaded guilty to a charge which stated that he repeatedly struck Mr McKechnie on his body to “severe injury, permanent disfigurement, permanent impairment and to the danger of his life”.

Ms Barron told the court that Mr McKechnie and his friends had been on a night out and were standing at the bus stop at about 12.45am on March 17 last year.

She said that both he and the youth were “unknown to each other” when they met each other at around 12.47am.

The court heard that investigators were unable to discover what triggered the investigation but had managed to determine that Mr McKechnie made the reference to Harry Potter.

Ms Barron said a witness told detectives about the comment. Speaking about the witness, she said: “The witness stated.. the complainer called the accused Harry Potter which made the accused angry.”

Ms Barron added: “All witnesses describe the argument as becoming physical.”

The prosecution lawyer said the confrontation continued a short distance away from the bus stop – Mr McKechnie was then stabbed again.

Ms Barron said: “The accused and complainer began pushing and shoving each other until at 0055 hours, the complainer collapsed clutching his body. The accused had stabbed the complainer again inflicting two further injuries to the complainer’s torso.

“The accused then ran off towards Market Street. The complainer was heard to say ‘I can’t breathe.’”

Ms Barron told the court that an ambulance arrived soon afterwards and Mr McKechnie was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary Hospital and doctors operated on him, removing his spleen.

Ms Barron added: “His injuries were of a severe nature and without the appropriate surgical intervention his life would have been at risk.

“He will be left with permanent scarring at the site of his injuries and also at the site of his operative wound. His injuries were consistent with having been caused by a sharp implement.”

Police launched an investigation and managed to identify the youth who was arrested on March 20 2024.

The court heard that the youth was a first offender. Defence solicitor advocate Iain McSporran KC asked judge Lord Cubie to continue bail for his client ahead of a sentencing hearing which will be held later this year.

He added: “If the court ever needed an illustration of the foolishness of carrying a knife in a public place then this case is it.

“He appreciates he is in the high court for a reason and that the court is considering a sentence of detention.”

Mr McSporran said that if granted bail, his client would be accompanied with his mother to an interview with a social worker appointed by the court to write a report into the youth’s background.

Mr McSporran added: “I would invite the court to have all sentencing options in mind.

“He is a very different young man to the very young man who committed this offence.”

Lord Cubie continued the youth’s bail and ordered a criminal justice social work report to be made available to the court.

He told the youth, who was wearing spectacles as he sat in the dock, not to “read anything” into the decision to grant him bail.

Lord Cubie added: “The nature of your crime to which you have been convicted of make it almost inevitable that you will receive a sentence of detention.

“I will continue bail but nothing should be read into that.”

The youth will be sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on April 1 2025.

POLITICIANS have been sent a report on bad language following an embarrassing Dail spat between Mary Lou McDonald and Taoiseach Micheal Martin.

Last week, the Dail descended into a row over language after the Taoiseach accused the Sinn Fein leader of telling lies in a debate about housing policy.

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Mary Lou McDonald said the Taoiseach called her a liar in Irish during a Dail debate[/caption]

The Fianna Fail leader was accused of taking advantage of Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy’s lack of Irish as he fumed at Mary Lou McDonald: “Tá an Teachta Dála ag insint bréaga aris” – which translates to ‘The TD is telling lies again.’

Under Dail rules, TDs are restricted in what they can say about other deputies and should not accuse a TD of being deceitful.

Sinn Fein TDs roared abuse at the Taoiseach following the comment with Pearse Doherty shouting “disgraceful” across the Chamber.

The Ceann Comhairle was forced to her feet to end the row with Deputy McDonald later writing to complain about Martin calling her a liar in the Dail.

The Taoiseach then responded to these claims by writing his own letter to the Ceann Comhairle in which he claimed he “accused the Deputy of telling untruths” and not telling lies.

The Taoiseach’s letter also included a list of instances in the last Dail where opposition TDs used the word ‘liar’ or variations of the word without sanction.

Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy today scolded TDs over the use of bad language in the Dail as she looked to put the embarrassing spat to an end.

The Ceann Comhairle has now sent all TDs a report on the use of bad language in the Dail.

She said: “I understand the use of bad language was addressed or examined in 2010 and a report was drawn up by the then Committee on Procedures and Privileges and was circulated to members of the House.

“As a starting point, I will have that report circulated to all members and further have it examined by the Committee on Parliamentary Privilege to see if it needs to be restated and made fit for purpose of the 34th Dail.”

The Ceann Comhairle immediately had to shut down further attempts to reignite the row as Sinn Fein’s Padraig Mac Lochlainn fumed: “Is he not going to withdraw what he said?”

Deputy Martin also tried to get involved in the row again before the Ceann Comhairle scolded: “No Taoiseach, thank you.”

Ironically, just minutes later the Dail descended into another shouting match with accusations of name calling.

FURTHER ROWS

Labour’s Ivana Bacik was questioning the Taoiseach on housing policy when she accused him and the Housing Minister of not showing up for a debate on the issue last week.

Micheal Martin snapped back: “You had an opportunity to go into government and you didn’t show up.”

The Taoiseach accused the opposition parties of being unable to engage in a serious debate on housing without “name calling” and distorting what has been said.

However, the Taoiseach then rounded on the Sinn Fein housing spokesman Eoin O’Broin and raged: “The Deputy persuaded nobody with his codswallop of a set of proposals” in the election.

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