Two teenage boys stabbed to death in 'turf war' were 'innocent victims in the wrong place at the wrong time', witness says

TWO teenage boys stabbed to death during an alleged gang war were “innocent victims in the wrong place at the wrong time”, a witness has said.

Talented footballer Max Dixon, 16, and friend Mason Rist, 15, were attacked in the street as they walked home Saturday evening by a group who then fled the scene in a car.

Talented footballer Max Dixon, 16, was stabbed to death as he walked home on Saturday evening

Pal Mason Rist, 15, was a fellow victim of the attack and died in hospital from his injuries

Locals tried to help the boys and held them in their arms as they bled, but they later died in hospital.

A bus full of shocked passengers saw the attack coming Bristol.

Max's mother Leanne Ekland posted on social media said today she was “devastated”.

She added: “Our lives will never be the same without you, my boy.”

It is thought the attack, in the deprived Knowle West area of the city, was in retaliation for another incident in the nearby rival suburb of Hartcliffe.

Witness Jason Teakel, 45, saw the pair die in the street outside his semi-detached home.

The self-employed mechanic, whose son, Thomas, 15, was a friend and is following the same training schoolsaid they were “100 percent innocent victims.”

He added: “These poor kids were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

'There's a postcode war going on here between gangs, but Max and Mason were definitely not in a gang, I can assure you.

“My son confirmed this. They were good boys who didn't get involved in anything until the night they died.”

His wife, security worker Victoria, 45, also said there was a gang war raging the city.

She added: “I think what happened is a gang from here went to Hartcliffe and caused some trouble, so the Hartcliffe gang came here to teach them a lesson.

“Max and Mason somehow became the innocent victims.”

The boys were students at Oasis Academy in Brislington, about a mile from Ilminster Avenue where they were stabbed.

An 18-year-old said he knew the two boys well, revealing: “Mason had only just lost his father. I don't know how his mother is doing.”

Max's sister Kayleigh has also paid tribute to her 'little brother', calling him 'unique'.

Forensic teams have been working at the scene and floral tributes were left nearby today.

Police arrested three men aged 44, 22 and 20, plus a boy aged 15, and seized a vehicle.