quote:

A teenager who was stabbed in the eye during her school lunch break said a "gang mentality" singled out pupils for their music and fashion tastes. The 15-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, narrowly escaped losing her sight in the attack last November. She had been the victim of a string of attacks, threats and had even received prank calls at home because she is what is known as "a metaler", Guildford Crown Court heard today. But she said: "I mean, it's this gang mentality that my generation seems to insist upon and I want to stop it." Watching the girl give evidence via video link, the jury heard how name-calling in the school canteen had escalated into an attack on the school playing fields. Mimicking and threatening the girl while queuing to get into the canteen, the three defendants, all pupils at the same school, asked around for a pair of scissors with which they said they would cut off their victim's long hair, the court has heard. The court was told they later approached her as she chatted with friends outside the school science block and one of the three girls launched the attack, stabbing her a number of times with the sharp scissor blades. Today, the victim, who was left with several gashes which required stitches and still suffers from blurred vision, told how one of her tormentors came at her with the blade in her hand "like in the movie Psycho". She described feeling the blade puncture her eyelid, an injury which required stitches and narrowly missed puncturing her eyeball, and, as she fell to the ground, she told of feeling further blows to her head and her back. Three girls were charged following the offence. One faces a charge of wounding with intent as well as a lesser, alternative charge of section 20 wounding. Her two co-defendants face charges of perverting the course of justice after, it is claimed, they helped hide the scissors following the attack. The victim explained in a police interview shown to the court how she had been "forced into a category" on her first day at the school. "Somebody asked me on the first day what kind of music I listened to, so I said AC/DC." She said that, as a result of this, she was told she was a "metaler" and found herself being shunned by other classmates. All three girls deny the charges against them. The case has been adjourned until tomorrow.

(Courtesy of Telegraph)