A fearful dog walker surrendered her Rambo knife, obtained for protection from hooded teens, at a boxing gym.
She learned about Andrew Connor’s efforts to reduce knife crime. His gym, Alpha Boxing Gym, is in Leadgate, near Consett, and she decided to visit.
Andrew offers free boxing training to those who surrender weapons. He then takes the weapons to the police, helping to keep the streets safer. The woman handed in her knife, afraid of young men wearing hoods and scared enough to arm herself. Andrew understood her fear.
Andrew imagined a dangerous scenario: a hooded youth gets too close, and she fears for her life and acts. This outcome would devastate everyone involved. He told her the knife wasn’t safety, but the wrong kind of protection.
He trained with her for an hour, showing her what he meant. After training, the woman felt like a new person and messaged the gym. Andrew wants her to feel safe and to trust people again.
Andrew and his stepson, Clayton, helped her, with Clayton even wearing his hood up. They practiced tactics to boost her confidence, and the knife is now gone.
Andrew believes he saved two lives: the person who could’ve been hurt, and the woman who carried the knife. The gym has been open for a week, and it is unknown if the woman would use the knife, but now the risk is gone, potentially saving lives already.
The knife is now at the police station, and Andrew feels a sense of relief. He helped protect both a potential victim and the woman herself.
Andrew’s work connects to the “Stop Lives Taking Knives” campaign, which started after fatal teen stabbings, a tragic situation that affected many. He wants people to drop their knives and talk to people they trust, emphasizing that it doesn’t have to be him or his gym, as his primary goal is harm prevention.
Andrew wants to help young people, hoping to steer them away from a bad path. He also provides free classes for children needing special education.
Andrew seeks funds to keep the gym open, using a Just Giving page to raise awareness and support. He invested all his money in the gym and does not want it to close now.