Man celebrating sister's wedding left pleading for his life after vicious knife attack

A London man who travelled to Glasgow for his sister’s wedding was left pleading for his life after being repeatedly stabbed by a stranger who was out celebrating the end of their bail curfew.

Harrison Keaney, 18, has now been jailed for five years and three months for the murder attempt on Mergim Thaqi.

The 23-year-old victim collapsed during the vicious assault and was heard to say: “Please don’t let me die.”

At the High Court in Edinburgh on Thursday, Judge Lady Drummond told Keaney: “Your victim describes in his statement how deeply your actions have affected him.

“He has suffered and continues to suffer physically and mentally.

“He has been left with significant scarring, pain and mental suffering as a result of your actions.

“Your behaviour shows that you are prepared to engage in extreme violence, to violently attack another using a weapon.”

What happened?

The attack happened on 19 November 2022 in Glasgow’s Argyle Street.

The court heard that Mr Thaqi had left the wedding venue with a cousin, while Keaney was out celebrating the end of a bail curfew with friends.

Words were exchanged between the two groups and Keaney was said to have pounced after Mr Thaqi punched one of his friends.

One of the wounds sustained by the victim narrowly missed his aorta – the largest artery in the body that carries blood away from the heart to the circulatory system.

Keaney admitted assaulting Mr Thaqi to his severe injury, permanent disfigurement and to the danger of his life, and attempting to murder him by repeatedly striking him on the body with a knife.

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Age allows attacker lighter sentence

Lady Drummond noted the teenager had been on two bail orders at the time of the offence and had a previous conviction for assault with a knife.

The judge said: “Your record of offending demonstrates escalating violence.

“This offence caused serious harm, and had the potential to endanger life.”

She told Keaney that had he been “more mature” at the time of the attack, he would have been facing nine years in jail.

New guidelines for sentencing under-25s came into effect in Scotland in January 2022.

The Scottish Sentencing Council recommended a more “individualistic approach” to take account of the perpetrator’s life experiences.

The changes were made to help reduce reoffending by focusing on rehabilitation rather than punishment.

As Keaney was 18 at the time of the attack, the judge said she would limit the starting point of her sentence to seven years in jail, which was then reduced further due to his early guilty plea.

Keaney will also be supervised for a further two years on his release from prison.

If he breaches any conditions of his licence, he can be sent back to jail.

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Lady Drummond noted: “You appear to show genuine remorse for your violent conduct and insight into the impact of your actions.”

Defence counsel Callum Hiller said Keaney had already taken part in courses while detained, adding: “He has shown an appropriate level of insight now into the impact and consequences of his actions.”

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