Shocking footage shows the moment a father bled to death in his driveway after being stabbed to death by a teenager on Christmas Day.
Ben Clark, a father of three, revealed on Tuesday how he tried to calm the “screaming” teenager outside his home in Emu Park, east of Rockhampton on Queensland’s central coast.
Clark said the teen had shown up at her home uninvited earlier that day, before being asked to leave.
However, he said the teen had secretly hidden a knife nearby without anyone noticing.
While Mr. Clark was cleaning up at the end of the day, the teenager returned and began ‘screaming and yelling’.
CCTV of the confrontation shows Mr Clark trying to restrain the teenager, unaware he was armed, before falling to his knees in shock, saying: “He just stabbed me.”
Family members are seen screaming running to Mr. Clark’s aid as he collapses to the ground.
Ben Clark, father of three, was stabbed by a teenager in his own driveway on Christmas Day
CCTV of the confrontation shows Mr Clark trying to restrain the teenager, unaware he was armed, before falling to his knees in shock after the stabbing.
Appearing on Today, Mr Clark revealed that he was stabbed just above his abdomen and is still suffering from chest pains months later.
‘Early at night, a teenager came to our house uninvited. He obviously had a great day and long story short, he was taken off the premises and into the car,” he said.
“I calmed him down and sent him home and then he came back in half an hour while we were cleaning up.
‘I was taking out the shellfish and this car stopped. The young man had hidden a knife in a relative’s car, we did not know.
“There was a bit of a confrontation, nothing violent. I was worried about the boy because he was extremely excited and out of control and I just tried to calm him down.
“He was yelling and yelling what he was going to do and I didn’t see any knife in his hand or anything.”
The father revealed that he was stabbed just above his abdomen and is still suffering from chest pains months later.
Mr. Clark’s wife, Cresta, said she thought her husband was going to die.
“I was actually on the phone with our middle son who was backpacking through Germany and we were just catching up over Christmas,” he explained.
He just called me and told him that something was going on here. I’m not quite sure what’s going on, dad is just trying to calm this person down.
‘Ben sent my youngest son inside and said that this person was threatening to kill and stab him.
“He was saying those words, so we were listening and it all unfolded very quickly in front of our eyes.
“I will never forget my husband kneeling down and clutching his chest and my two other children running to help him.
“I thought I was going to die in the grass that day.”
Clark said he was shocked by the situation.
“It’s something you wouldn’t expect in our small town because we love our town,” he said.
‘I grew up here, I have raised my children here. Three children, all teenagers, now in their young 20’s and this is shocking that it has become normalized in our children’s minds.
His wife Cresta said she thought her husband was going to die after the stabbing.
‘There’s chest pain and it comes and goes, but that’s not what it’s about.
‘It’s not about me, it’s a bigger problem for my family. It’s a bigger problem for our state and our country and our children.
“I don’t understand how this has been normalized and how it’s okay and it doesn’t really matter which way you turn it, it all comes back to the lead.”
Queensland is in the grip of a wave of juvenile crime that has forced Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk to launch new reforms.
He made breaking bail a youth crime again, after getting rid of the offense in 2015 and refusing a push for its return since then.
The maximum penalties for stolen cars and night crimes will also be increased, as well as greater penalties for those who flaunt their crimes on social media.
The controversial change comes after a series of high-profile homicides involving criminals under the age of 18, particularly in the south-east of the state, as well as ongoing carjackings and home invasions in Townsville, Cairns and Mount Isa.
Community groups have called for more action and reminded the public of the mothers, fathers and teens who have already been victims of the crime wave.
The cabinet has also approved a $42 million juvenile justice package, which includes police officers who can be sent to problem areas.