A THUG aged 13 posed up holding a blade just months before stabbing a keen footballer to death in a gang fight.
The feckless ned threatened to ‘chop up’ Kory McCrimmon, 16 before knifing him during a bloodbath rammy in Glasgow’s east end last May.
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We can reveal the hooded tearaway flaunted himself on social media holding the weapon and also made ‘C’ signs for the gang from the city’s Cranhill area.
The High Court in Glasgow heard how the killer and victim, who played for Easterhouse Football Academy, had earlier swapped menacing messages online after a fallout over £50.
Although he was originally charged with murder, prosecutors accepted a guilty plea from the brute, now 14, to culpable homicide while acting under provocation.
A friend of the lout, who we can’t name or picture due to his age, said: “His social media shows he was on this path long before he carried out his violent wish.
“He went off the rails badly after a family bereavement in 2023 but that’s no excuse for what he did to Kory.
“The lad was a ticking time bomb and tragically he stabbed Kory before he could be stopped.”
Judge Lord Mulholland told him at his hearing on Tuesday that using a blade on someone was “cowardly” – while describing Kory’s death as “utter madness”.
He said: “If there was ever a case which shows the utter folly of running with a gang, it is this one.
“It’s not cool to be a gang member, it doesn’t make you a tough guy. It does not make you hard.
“I have seen the tragedy of this case played out so many times.”
The court heard Kory had been associated with a gang from Shettleston, The Shetto.
And advocate depute Greg Farrell said: “The accused is a member of the ‘Cranhill Young Team’.
“With Kory coming from another area, there are inevitably territorial rivalries.”
He said the pair were regularly in touch on Instagram and initially were on “good terms” before there was a row over £50 the killer was refusing to pay back to Kory.
Mr Farrell said: “The messages became increasingly acrimonious.
“There were insults and threats of violence made by both parties. The accused repeatedly threatened to ‘chop up’ Kory and to kill him.”
The killer challenged Kory and pals to a fight in the city’s Greenfield Park on May 31 last year with fatal consequences.
Sentencing was deferred. The killer will remain in a secure unit.
