Woman's mission to end knife attacks after brother's death

A woman has made it her mission to end knife attacks after her brother was stabbed to death.

Shanine Wright's, 26, brother Darrian Williams, 16, was killed by two teenagers after being stabbed in Easton's Rawnsley Park on Valentine's Day 2024.

Ms Wright is now a member of the UK's first Coalition Against Knife Crime, which met in the Home Office earlier. The group aims to advise MPs on new laws needed to tackle the crime.

She said it felt like her "world was spinning" when she was first told her brother had died. "We're not the first, we're not going to be the last, but that doesn't mean I can't do anything," she added.

She hopes to offer ministers "some leverage on what is happening in Bristol".

"They're not living on the streets, they don't see how we live and how knife crime is affecting all of us as a community, not just our family but the whole of Bristol," she said.

Ms Wright said she grew up with knife crime happening around her. She witnessed her first stabbing at 12 years old.

The victim of that incident survived, and Ms Wright said at the time she did not consider it a huge deal. But she has become a passionate campaigner on the issue since Darrian's death little more than one year ago.

She said: "It's literally that I'm just in a new world now since my brother was killed from a knife."

Creating the coalition was one of the first actions of the new Labour government last summer, with one of their key election pledges having been to halve knife crime over the next decade.

As well as Ms Wright, it features representatives from anti-knife crime charities such as the Ben Kinsella Trust and Charlie's Promise, the police and actor Idris Elba, who has become a campaigner on the issue through his group Don't Stop Your Future.

Ms Wright would like to see a crackdown on children being excluded from school.

"I really want to work with the government on how we can ensure kids are staying in the right education environments," she added.

Last week, citing "significant consultation" with the coalition, the government announced plans to restrict the sharing of knife crime content online.

A spokesperson for the Home Office confirmed plans to fine tech companies up to £60,000 if they fail to remove such content within 48 hours of it being reported to the police.

At times, Ms Wright said getting the drive to act can be tough, but she feels she must for the sake of her family.

"I don't want ever, ever want to lose anyone to a knife again so, this is it now," she said.

"We've lost one and we're not going to lose no more."

Asked what Darrian would think, she said he would think it was "crazy" but "amazing".

Announcing the creation of the coalition last September, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called knife crime a "national crisis".

"We will take this moment to come together as a country – politicians, families of victims, young people themselves, community leaders and tech companies - to halve knife crime and take back our streets."

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