Boys murdered in ‘revenge attack’ were victims of mistaken identity | UK News

Two boys murdered in a ‘revenge attack’ by four other teenagers and a man wielding ‘fearsome weapons’ were completely innocent victims of mistaken identity, a court has heard.

Max Dixon, 16, and Mason Rist, 15, were stabbed in the Knowle West area of Bristol on the evening of January 27 this year after unwittingly stumbling into the middle of a ‘postcode rivalry’, it was said.

Barely half an hour before they were ambushed, a house in the Hartcliffe area of the city was attacked with bricks, leaving a woman inside at the time injured.

‘The five occupants of the car drove from Hartcliffe to Knowle West. As they set off, we say, they were on the hunt for the people they thought were responsible for the attack on the house.

‘They set off together, they were on a joint mission, and we say that was for revenge.

‘As they drove past Max and Mason walking down the street, they thought they had spotted the people responsible for the earlier attack – or at the very least, people connected to it.

‘They were entirely wrong about that. Max and Mason had absolutely nothing to do with any earlier incident and no connection whatsoever with those events.’

The court was shown two machetes which Mr Tully said had been recovered following the fatal attacks.

CCTV images played to the court showed the Audi vehicle stopping alongside Max and Mason at 11.14pm, with four people jumping out of the vehicle and the boys running away almost immediately.

Max and Mason are seen going to different sides of the street, each pursued by two people from the vehicle.

Tolliver and the 15-year-old boy are alleged to have attacked Mason, while the 16-year-old boy and 17-year-old boy are said to have chased Max.

The 17-year-old boy also struck Mason, who was lying injured on the ground, as he headed back to the Audi after attacking Max, Mr Tully said.

Max and Mason both sustained stab wounds and died from their injuries.

Mr Tully said the five defendants were ‘in it together’ and their joint attack resulted in both boys dying, which was ‘hardly surprising’ given the type of weapons used.

He added: ‘Antony Snook could and would not have been in any doubt about what these four youngsters were intending to do as he drove them round the streets of south Bristol for nearly 15 minutes hunting for their victims.

‘Without his willingness, as an adult, to provide a car and drive these four young people around south Bristol tooled up, out looking to attack those that they thought were responsible for the attack on the house, these two killings wouldn’t ever have happened.’

Snook, Tolliver, the 16-year-old boy and the 17-year-old boy are charged with murdering Mason together with the 15-year-old boy on January 27 this year.