A man and four teenagers have been found guilty of murdering two boys in a case of mistaken identity in a botched revenge attack.
Mason Rist, 15, and Max Dixon, 16, died from stab wounds after being chased by four “tooled up” teenagers on 27 January in Bristol.
Riley Tolliver, 18, and three boys aged 15, 16 and 17, had been driven to and from Knowle West by Antony Snook, 45, as part of a revenge mission.
The two victims had been wrongly identified as being responsible for bricks being thrown at a house in the rival Hartcliffe district earlier that evening.
The pair were attacked shortly after leaving Mason’s home on Ilminster Avenue, Bristol Crown Court heard.
Speaking after the verdicts, Detective Superintendent Gary Haskins, senior investigating officer at Avon and Somerset Police, said Max and Mason had been going for a pizza when they were fatally attacked in a case of mistaken identity.
“They are beautiful boys, going about their business, in their own community when they were senselessly attacked by the individuals for no reason,” he said.
“What we know is that they passed Max when he was walking towards Mason’s house. Then Mason walks out of his house and joins Max.
“The vehicle is passing, they think ‘that’s them, they will do’. They were hunting around Knowle to find people.
“We know they had driven around Knowle two-and-a-half times before they came across these two boys.”
A CCTV camera on Mason’s house captured how the attack lasted just 33 seconds, including Snook’s Audi stopping, the four teenagers jumping out, attacking the two friends, returning to the car and it driving off.
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