Teens detained for brain damage attack on boy on train

Three teenagers who left a boy with brain damage after attacking him on a train have been detained for more than three years each for attempted murder.

The trio, aged 16,15 and 13, admitted chasing the boy and repeatedly kicking, stamping and jumping on him after he stumbled and fell.

The 13-year-old suffered a brain injury in the attack on a train at Glasgow's High Street station on 15 October 2021 and missed two years of school.

Judge Lord Scott said the victim would be "forever changed" as a result of the incident.

The oldest of the boy's attackers collapsed in the dock after sentencing was announced at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Lord Scott told them: "Notwithstanding your young age and encouraging signs of rehabilitation, the gravity of the crime is such that only a custodial sentence is appropriate."

He sentenced the two younger youths to three years and nine months detention each and imposed three years and 11 months on the oldest teenager.

The judge said that the sentences were significantly less than they would have been for older offenders.

Lord Scott told the teenagers that their victim's life had been dramatically altered and would never be the same.

The trio pled guilty to attempted murder earlier this year at the High Court in Glasgow.

They attacked their victim shortly after he got on the train at High Street station. Footage of the attack was caught on camera.

Tthe trio left the train at Bellgrove station, footage showed two of them hugging each other as they left.

Other passengers went to help before emergency crews arrived. The teenager suffered a fractured collarbone, bruising and swelling as well as the serious brain injury.

The mother of the oldest of the attackers contacted police after her son confessed to his involvement.

He admitted to officers that he "stamped" on a boy's head but added that "loads" of boys had taken part in the attack.

The judge made a non harassment order prohibiting the teenagers approaching, contacting or communicating with the victim for an indefinite period.