Kenzo Cooper, the best friend of a 16-year-old boy fatally stabbed in Glasgow, calls on the Scottish Government to address the youth violence epidemic. The 'Our Kids ... Our Future' campaign highlights the urgent need for safe spaces and investment in youth services to prevent further tragedies.
Kenzo Cooper , the best friend of a 16-year-old schoolboy who was fatally stabbed in a brutal street attack, has urged the next Scottish Government to take stronger action to prevent youth tragedies.
Kenzo, now 17, criticized politicians for failing a 'forgotten generation' of young people amid a rising epidemic of youth violence. His friend, Kory McCrimmon, was just 16 when he was stabbed in the heart in Glasgow's east end in May 2024 over a dispute involving £50. The attacker, who was 13 at the time, was sentenced to five years in prison after admitting culpable homicide.
Kenzo is speaking out about the devastating loss as part of the Daily Record's 'Our Kids ... Our Future' campaign, launched three years ago in response to alarming levels of violence against teenagers. Kenzo, from Easterhouse, expressed his frustration, stating that the next government must address the crisis. He said, 'Whoever wins this election needs to sort this mess out.
My generation has been failed and forgotten about, and there's nowhere for kids to go. That's why they are hanging about the streets and getting into trouble. Threats of violence among boys had been going on in the area for some time before Kory died. We all knew somebody was going to end up dead, but I never thought it would be him.
He had his whole life ahead of him and should still be here today, but it has all been taken away from him. I'm glad the Daily Record is fighting our corner with its campaign, but the government needs to listen. Young people deserve a chance, but we're not getting it.
' The campaign, alongside experts and charities, had warned for a year that a child would die before Kory's tragic death, urging the government to act urgently on teen violence. Despite these warnings, the Daily Record reported the tragic deaths of three schoolboys on Scotland's streets within a 12-month period. After Kory's death, 15-year-old Amen Teklay became the second teenager to lose his life after being found seriously injured on a street in Maryhill in March 2025.
Weeks later, 16-year-old Kayden Moy died in hospital following a disturbance at Irvine Beach in Ayrshire in May. Kenzo believes these deaths could have been prevented, stating, 'Those other boys, Amen and Kayden, should never have died. The government should have learned from the mistakes of Kory's death, and the Record warned a kid would die even before he lost his life.
' As part of the 'Our Kids ... Our Future' campaign, the Daily Record has long demanded that the Scottish Government invest in violence prevention by ensuring young people have safe spaces in every community. By investing in provisions like youth clubs, kids could access mentorship and guidance.
Meanwhile, Kenzo remembered Kory as a 'great mate' who would 'turn any bad day into a good one.
' He said, 'Kory was a great mate and was always there to cheer you up. He always had a smile and made everybody laugh. He would turn any bad day you had into a good one. He brought everybody together.
' Kevin Martin, who runs Easterhouse Sports Centre and supports youths in the area, emphasized the need for safe spaces for young people. He said, 'It's crucial we act to create safe spaces for young people. If we don't, there will be more fatalities. The summer holidays are coming up, and kids have nowhere to go.
Of course, I am worried. If these kids had opportunities when they were younger, it might not have resulted in death or violence. It is a shame we have to react to young deaths when we could be proactive. During this election period, we need to be guaranteed long-term stability and continuous support to get us out of this youth violence epidemic.
We need investment and a promise from politicians that there will be long-term investment in kids.
' Local Labour MSP Paul Sweeney agreed, stating, 'Kenzo is right—the rise in youth violence in recent years was preventable, and the Scottish Government has failed young people. With the equivalent of a year’s worth of funding to Glasgow City Council cut over the last decade by the SNP in Holyrood, community spaces and outreach work have disappeared from the East End of Glasgow.
This has hollowed out our community capacity to run activities with young people to prevent youth violence, and it is essential that these cuts are reversed by the next Scottish Government.
' A Scottish Government spokesperson said, 'As has previously been set out, the First Minister and the Justice Secretary met with Kory McCrimmon’s family to offer condolences for the unimaginable loss they suffered and listen carefully to their concerns and suggestions for ways to prevent other families from experiencing the same tragedy. The Scottish Government provides a range of funding for youth work, including grants, core funding, and special initiatives.
This includes the local authority block grant, which gives councils significant flexibility to allocate resources for youth work in their area.
Youth Violence Scottish Government Kory Mccrimmon Kenzo Cooper Our Kids Our Future
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