The mum of a man who was stabbed to death says she’s “sad” to see the Knife Angel sculpture leaving Edinburgh.
The sculpture is made up of over 100,000 blades seized by police and was created by artist Alfie Bradley and the British Ironworks Centre.
The Angel, which has its hands out in a ‘why?’ gesture, was created as a reminder of the impact knife crime can have on communities.
The statue’s wings display messages of love and remembrance from loved ones who have lost someone to knife crime, alongside messages from ex-offenders who regret carrying and using blades.
Police ScotlandThe arrival of the sculpture at the Kirkgate in Leith earlier this month came almost a year after John McNab was stabbed to death by a 16-year-old in the area.
The teen attacker, who cannot be named for legal reasons, received a life sentence and was ordered to spend at least 17 years behind bars following a trial in June this year.
Lisa Petrie, Mr McNab’s mum, said the Knife Angel sculpture has made an impact during its time in Edinburgh, and she will be sad to see the artwork leave the capital.
She told STV News: “I think it being here has raised so much awareness and it’s got people talking. Everybody is supporting me and coming up and speaking to me. And the amount of families that I’ve met through knife crime as well has been absolutely brilliant.
“It’s like we’re all coming together so I’m sad to see it leave.
STV News“If it changes one child’s mind or one adult, this isn’t just about kids as well, this is about adults as well. If it changes one person’s thought for carrying a knife, then it has got to make a difference.
“Once this angel goes, we still need to continue. We still need to keep talking. We still need to keep educating, and we still need to come together as a community and fight this.”
The family of 16-year-old Kory McCrimmon, who was stabbed to death in Greenfield Park in Glasgow in May 2024, also visited the sculpture to lay flowers last week.
In recent years, teenagers Amen Teklay and Kayden Moy have also lost their lives to youth violence.
Police Scotland Chief Inspector Kieran Dougal said: “I think the Knife Angel’s made a dramatic impact. We knew this was going to be a platform to raise discussions about the impact and the devastating consequences of knife crime and violence within our communities.
“But it’s a lot more than just the statue itself. It’s the array of work that’s accompanied that. We’ve united over 100 partners in running a variety of events throughout the month. But really, where I think it’s had success is it’s moving away from crime statistics or crime trends to actually the accounts of lived experience in families such as Lisa Petrie and others that have been impacted by knife crime within our communities.
“One life lost is one life too many, and we remain dedicated to tackling that and continuing the work long after the angel is gone.
“One of the focuses around this is raising awareness of that lived experience and communicating and working alongside young people to raise the dangers but also signpost support. So, on a daily basis, police and partners work directly with our communities to tackle knife crime but really take a preventive approach.
“And that’s what the Angel’s about. It’s about raising awareness. There’s been workshops, practitioner events, we’ve engaged with parents and the wider community both here and across the city to really raise that awareness and prevent people turning to knives.
“One thing I would say is, if there is any information about people carrying knives or violence within our communities, is to contact the police on 101 or 999 in an emergency, or there’s our partners such as Crime Stoppers.”
The statue, which took two years to construct, arrived on September 1 and will remain in the area until Sunday.
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