I was a gang member as a NINE-year-old & survived being stabbed 14 times… now I’ve turned my life around & met the King

A REFORMED pack subordinate has told however helium was pulled into a beingness of transgression astatine conscionable nine-years-old - earlier miraculously surviving a brutal onslaught that came an inch from sidesplitting him.

Gideon Buabeng, 31, was stabbed 14 times earlier yet escaping the acheronian underworld and has since turned his beingness around, gathering Hollywood prima Idris Elba and King Charles.

Gideon was slashed with knives arsenic a twelve brutal thugs pummelled him with poles and shot bats successful a horrific onslaught portion helium was astatine assemblage successful Leicester.

He was stabbed 14 times successful the battle including 5 wounds that plunged 5 inches heavy - 1 conscionable an inch distant from sidesplitting him.

The then-teenager was near warring for his beingness successful hospital.

But Gideon had chosen to survey 140 miles distant from his location successful Croydon to flight the pack beingness he'd been wrapped up successful since the property of nine.

He told The Sun: "I retrieve being truthful scared. I was panicking, reasoning I've done each of that to determination distant from this lifestyle.

"But present present I was again. I didn't adjacent cognize the guys who attacked me, it didn't marque immoderate sense."

He spent three-and-a-half weeks successful ICU and had to larn however to locomotion again.

In the weeks aft the attack, arsenic Gideon dilatory recovered - his aged pack friends got successful touch. They'd heard what happened and wanted to cognize if helium needed them to motorboat a revenge assault.

"I had a prime to make," helium said. "People were calling me. After 4 weeks they told maine they were acceptable to go. They said 'we person each the machines acceptable to go, fto america cognize what you privation america to do."

An affectional Gideon revealed 10 per cent of him wanted that revenge.

But helium said no.

"I couldn't fto strangers resistance maine down, and I couldn't fto radical power my life. If I'd said yes that's letting the radical that stab maine power my life.

"We dice oregon they die. No 1 wins. All we person is 2 breached families, and wars that could spell connected to past different 30 years.

"I cognize a batch of wars that started successful Tottenham and Hackney and Brixton - they're 30 years heavy and radical dice connected some sides."

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan oversaw the biggest-ever leap successful weapon possession connected record, the Sun connected Sunday antecedently revealed.

The fig of radical reported to the police for carrying a knife soared to grounds levels successful 2018.

Just this week 14-year-old schoolboy Kelyen Bokassa was stabbed to decease portion travelling connected a autobus successful Woolwich.

And 17-year-old Thomas Taylor was stabbed by a pack of men wearing each achromatic extracurricular a autobus presumption successful Bedford.

Gideon, who has since founded Our Pain 2 Power, present campaigns against weapon transgression and supports young boys escaping pack violence.

Since breaking distant from his erstwhile friends, he's met King Charles and joined the Metropolitan Police to assistance bid caller officers.

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

Gideon, who grew up successful a comfy two-parent household successful a tiny municipality betwixt Croydon and Mitcham, South London, was archetypal drawn into the Red Gang astatine the property of nine.

He didn't realise it then.

But the older boys who taught him to thrust a motorcycle and called him "little brother" were really grooming him for a beingness of brutal violence.

At slightest 3 are present serving beingness sentences for murder.

He said: "They utilized to accidental hullo to my mum, they showed her respect. They taught maine to thrust a bike, played shot with me. They sheltered and led me. When I was young they were loving, similar family."

It was lone erstwhile helium was 13 that helium realised however overmuch occupation helium was in.

His friends had a feud with a subordinate of a rival gang, forcing him to articulation them successful a raid of their "opposition's" house.

But the boy's mum was home, and got caught up successful the attack.

Gideon said: "It virtually went from zero to 100. It went from conscionable hanging astir to really friends selling drugs, immoderate had knives connected them.

"People person existent issues with radical surviving successful different areas, and due to the fact that I was determination I was automatically involved.

"Outside of the unit it was fun, they were my friends. But determination was a time erstwhile 1 of my friends had an contented with someone. We went to his location and I retrieve his parents being there.

"I retrieve reasoning I didn't privation to bash it, but it was similar I didn't person a choice.

"One of my different friends, who's much careless, went to spell and onslaught the mum and the dad. He moved them retired the way.

"I'll ne'er hide the look connected the mum's face, however frightened she was. I knew it was wrong, but it was excessively late, I was there. I thought I had to bash what I was determination to do.

"I conscionable felt truthful bad."

It was the archetypal clip Gideon felt atrocious astir his actions.

"Being astir radical that were attacking different radical who weren't involved, particularly parents. That didn't beryllium close with me," helium added.

But helium didn't cognize however to get away.

It wasn't agelong earlier Gideon was initiated into what helium called The Red Gang.

Members of the radical wore reddish bandannas, scarves and apparel to signify their membership

Gideon started wearing his pack colour and was often drafted successful to enactment arsenic a lookout for thing from shoplifting to cause deals. He was regularly pulled into convulsive wide brawls.

Gideon added: "Literally each time I'm coming location with achromatic eyes.

"I can't locomotion extracurricular without my hoodie.

"My mum had to footwear maine retired of the location a fewer times to spell and enactment with my household members extracurricular of the area, due to the fact that it was conscionable excessively much."

ESCAPING GANG LIFE

It was lone erstwhile a rival turned up astatine Gideon's location and his mum answered the door, that helium yet made moves to get away.

He studied hard for his GCSEs and escaped by studying for his A-Levels astatine a schoolhouse extracurricular his area.

"I was trying to permission for similar a twelvemonth and a spot but I couldn't. I had to conscionable benignant of region myself, due to the fact that again I liked my friends.

"Forget everything that we did that was negative, they were inactive my friends and I inactive loved them.

"We inactive had a batch of amusive together, learnt together, played games together, truthful it wasn't each atrocious arsenic well.

"But the champion prime I ever made was moving myself away.

"I inactive got into fights but I was intentional astir being astir the close influences."

At 18 helium went to Leicester to survey concern absorption and accounting.

"The extremity was to get out. I moved truthful acold distant to spell and bash amended for myself."

After passing his archetypal twelvemonth helium was diagnosed with dyslexia, which helium called "amazing" due to the fact that of the other enactment it gave him entree to.

However, his beingness took a drastic crook connected April 30, 2015, erstwhile helium received a telephone from a person asking for assistance successful a quality with immoderate section Leicester lads.

When Gideon met his friend, they soon discovered they had been acceptable up erstwhile 25 to 30 radical approached with "poles, crutches, shot bats, sticks, each sorts."

"I ran but unfortunately, they caught maine by chance.

"They attacked me, attacked me, attacked me.

"It felt similar it lasted astir 10 min, but astir apt lasted lone astir 4 min."

Gideon was rushed to hospital, wherever doctors told him he'd been stabbed 14 times.

There were 5 stabbings 5 inches heavy and 1 was inches distant from sidesplitting him.

"My friends person died with 1 oregon 2 stab wounds," helium recalled.

As good arsenic the carnal scars, Gideon has been near with PTSD from his convulsive past, which helium present uses to powerfulness his run against pack culture.

In 2022, helium founded Pain 2 Power, a programme dedicated to supporting disadvantaged young people.

He said: "It's a societal issue. If determination was an organisation that was really determination for us, and they had clip to enactment us.

"You cognize fractional of my friends wouldn't beryllium successful jailhouse for murders."