Sister of murdered Stockton man to hold a meeting to tackle knife crime
Emma Bell's brother Lewis was murdered in September 2024
Last updated 14th Jan 2026
The sister of a murdered Stockton man is urging people to come together to try and tackle knife crime in Teesside.
Lewis Bell was brutally murdered in the early hours of 19th September 2024, when he was chased by three men before being fatally stabbed in the back and left to die in the street.
Her sister, Emma, is holding a meeting today at 12 noon at Grangefield Community Centre in Stockton. She is spearheading it alongside Eden Hollis.
It is for anyone affected by knife crime and everyone who wants to do something to get knife crime under control are welcome to attend to come up with ideas.
Emma said: "My little brother Lewis Bell was murdered. He was stabbed in the back. Three spineless cowards chased him and obviously he didn't stand a chance. He died almost instantly and they killed him on his son's birthday as well.
"The impact it's had on me and my family it's completely changed our lives forever. I do not want to keep seeing families going through the pain that me and my family have gone through.
"We're holding this meeting so anyone can come, have their say, express their views, opinions and honestly it's so we can all come together, speak about our experiences and see what we can do moving forward, how we can help our children grow up in a safer world.
"Stockton is one of the worst areas for knife crime. It's getting worse and worse. People aren't listening, people aren't learning, but people only want to know when it's too late, so this is why we want to all come together to try and tackle it as best as we can.
"I'm just hoping to get from the meeting is for as many people to show up, all of us standing together, all of us putting our heads together and just see what we can do to just try and make our town a better place for our kids to grow up in.
"We can all support each other, so I'm hoping anyone at all who's been affected by knife crime to please come to this meeting so we can all support each other. We can all be there for each other because together we can make a difference I believe.
"Anyone that's had enough of knife crime in the area, that's sick of seeing the same thing every week; murder, murder, murder, knife crime, knife crime, knife crime, if you've had enough of it please show up to this meeting. Let's put our heads together and see what we can do to keep our kids safe.
"I want to go into schools and speak to children to educate them on knife crime and kids getting groomed into that drug life.
"I've had enough of seeing families going through the pain of losing a loved one. This could happen to anyone. Anyone's family member, anyone's friend, anyone's neighbour. Anyone can lose their life to a knife."