Adam Hood, who represents Surrey Docks ward on Southwark Council, said he was "deeply concerned" by Tuesday's incident. "Details are still emerging but at this point I'm thankful to the fast response from emergency services," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
A 15-year-old boy and a 44-year-old-man have also been arrested in connection with the stabbing.
All four remain in police custody.
Avon and Somerset Police
Bristol Police Commander Supt Mark Runacres, who is leading the murder investigation, said he expects there to be more arrests.
"There are numerous live lines of inquiry which are being pursued and progressed... and I confidently anticipate more arrests to follow," he said.
He added that the force had more than 100 officers working on the case.
PA Media
The boys, who the local community have described as much-loved, were attacked by a number of people, sustaining serious stab wounds.
They were taken to separate hospitals - Southmead Hospital and Bristol Royal Hospital for Children - but died hours later.
GoFundMe pages have been set up to help with funeral costs, raising more than £10,000.
Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Supt Runacres said: "I don't believe this is rooted in gang warfare.
"I understand the impact this incident has had, I'm a dad myself - but we've seen the strength of the community.
"Any death is awful, but the loss of Mason and Max, who had their whole lives in front of them, is particularly tragic and my heart breaks for the families who have to endure such unimaginable pain and suffering."
He could not confirm whether the suspects and victims were known to each other or whether the killings were a case of mistaken identity.
The Democratic Unionist party has endorsed a deal with the UK government to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland, paving an end to two years of political deadlock.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the party would revive the mothballed Stormont executive and assembly once the government tabled promised legislation.
“I am pleased to report that the party executive has now endorsed the proposals that I have put to the party,” he told a press conference early on Tuesday after facing down hardline opponents in a dramatic and chaotic five-hour meeting of the party’s 130-member executive. “The result was clear, the DUP has been decisive, I have been mandated to move forward.”
The DUP collapsed Stormont in February 2022 in protest at post-Brexit trading arrangements that it said undermined Northern Ireland’s position in the UK. The impasse left civil servants to run Northern Ireland on a form of auto-pilot amid a fiscal crisis, crumbling public services, strikes and doubts about whether devolved government would ever return.
However the boycott proved popular with DUP supporters and bolstered its electoral position, complicating Donaldson’s effort to abandon the protest.
Tuesday morning’s breakthrough paves the way for Sinn Féin, which overtook the DUP as the biggest party in the 2022 assembly election, to take the first minister post for the first time under its deputy leader, Michelle O’Neill – a historic, if symbolic precedent. A DUP member will be eligible to be deputy first minister, a post with equal power but less prestige.
Sinn Féin’s leader, Mary Lou McDonald, expressed optimism Stormont could return before an 8 February legislative deadline for forming an administration. “Sinn Féin will now engage with the parties and both governments to ensure we now all press on without delay,” she said.
Donaldson said the deal – yet to be published – would safeguard Northern Ireland’s place in the UK and restore its place in the UK internal market. “It will remove checks for goods moving within the UK and remaining in Northern Ireland and will end Northern Ireland automatically following future EU laws,” he said.
Conservative MPs will scrutinise the deal, once published, for any sign that Downing Street has weakened the ability to diverge from EU rules.
Rishi Sunak’s administration would need to deliver legislative commitments it made to the DUP before the party would revive power-sharing, said Donaldson. “The package of measures will require a significant number of actions to be taken and we look forward with confidence to their ongoing implementation, according to an agreed timeline.”
On that basis the DUP would support convoking the Northern Ireland assembly to elect a speaker and facilitate the nomination of ministers, said Donaldson.
The Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, who presided over months of tortuous negotiations with the DUP, welcomed the news and said London would keep its side of the bargain. “I now believe that all the conditions are in place for the assembly to return, the parties entitled to form an executive are meeting tomorrow to discuss these matters and I hope to be able to finalise this deal with the political parties as soon as possible.”
Dublin, Brussels and Washington will also welcome the restoration of Stormont, a central plank of the 1998 Good Friday agreement. Many Northern Ireland nurses, teachers, bus drivers and other public sector workers will also welcome a revived executive, which is a condition to unlock a £3.3bn financial package from London.
Donaldson’s victory – and possibly his leadership – will be tested in coming days by hardliners who consider the deal a betrayal that will weaken the union, raising the prospect of a party split. Donaldson did not reveal the size of the majority in favour of the deal.
Senior figures in the DUP, including Sammy Wilson and Nigel Dodds, had warned against a compromise that would merely tweak the Irish Sea border. Dozens of protesters, some holding union jack flags and signs saying “Stop DUP sellout”, picketed the meeting, which ended shortly before 1am.
The Traditional Unionist Voice party and Jamie Bryson, a prominent loyalist, denounced Donaldson. The meeting was supposed to have been confidential but Bryson live-tweeted it, suggesting he had sources inside the room. “There’s only one betrayal, and it is of the mandate given to the DUP,” Bryson tweeted.
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Rishi Sunak’s proposed Rwanda asylum law has cleared its first major hurdle in the House of Lords, but faces a bruising ride as the Archbishop of Canterbury warned it is “leading the nation down a damaging path”.
A barrage of criticism was levelled at the government’s Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, during its lengthy second reading debate in the upper chamber, with accusations that it was immoral, repugnant and an attempt to “legislate a lie”.
The Archbishop of Canterbury speaking in the Lords
(Parliament TV)
Mr Sunak has told peers to listen to “the will of the people” as he tries to push his Rwanda scheme through parliament in time to get deportation flights started for the spring.
Only 11 right-wing rebel Tory MPs voted against the “weak” legislation in the Commons – but it faces a bigger test in the Lords, where many members have expressed unease about the safety of Rwanda.
While the Bill survived a Liberal Democrat-led bid to derail it on Monday, the unelected chamber is certain to seek numerous changes, putting them on a collision course with the Tory administration and an extended tussle between the Commons and Lords during “ping-pong”. Peers voted 206 to 84 against the blocking motion, a majority of 122.
Speaking ahead of the second-reading stage vote, the Archbishop of Canterbury told the Lords: “We can as a nation do better than this bill.”
“With this bill, the government is continuing to seek good objectives in the wrong way – leading the nation down a damaging path,” the faith leader added.
Rev Welby called Rwanda as a “wonderful country”, adding: “My complaint is not with Rwanda, nor with its people – it has overcome challenges that this House cannot begin to imagine.”
But the cross-bench peer insisted that Mr Sunak’s bill would “outsource our legal and moral responsibility for refugees and asylum seekers” when other countries “far poorer than we are already supporting multitudes more than we are now”.
He also argued that “pick and choose approach to international law undermines our global standing and offends against the principle of universality”.
Rishi Sunak insists his Rwanda bill will help him deliver his ‘stop the boats’ pledge
Rev Welby added: “It is damaging for asylum seekers in need of protection, and safe and legal routes. It is damaging for this country’s reputation … It is damaging in respect of constitutional principles and the rule of law.”
The senior Liberal Democrat peer Lord German urged fellow peers to vote down the Rwanda bill at the second reading stage. However, Rev Welby said he would not vote against the government on Monday evening. With the government widely expected to win tonight’s vote, peers are waiting to amend the legislation at the next stage.
First blood was drawn on the bill in the Lords last week, when peers backed by 214 votes to 171 an unprecedented move seeking to delay a treaty with Rwanda which forms part of the government’s plan.
The unelected second chamber backed calls for parliament to not approve the pact until ministers can show the country is safe. However, unlike the Commons – which has the power to delay ratification of a treaty – the Lords can only advise.
The ex-Tory cabinet minister Kenneth Clarke said he could not support the Rwanda bill – warning that its powers to overrule the courts on Rwanda’s safety set a “very dangerous constitutional provision”.
Lord Clarke told peers about “the risks of moving towards an elective dictatorship in this country” – arguing that there ought to be “constitutional limits on any branch of government in a liberal democratic society such as ours”.
And in a scathing speech, former Labour home secretary Lord David Blunkett, said the Tory plan was all about “virtue signalling” to hardline voters and demonising the courts, the Lords and the opposition.
He also pointed out that far-right Italian Giorgia Meloni had a similar plan to deport asylum seekers to African nations. “What sort of county are we?” he asked.
Earlier on Monday, Mr Sunak’s official spokesman said the bill remained the “right thing to do” to tackle people smugglers and deter asylum seekers from crossing the Channel.
“It is also the fair thing to do both for taxpayers and for those individuals seeking to come here through safe and legal routes who see their place jumped by those who can afford to make crossings on small boats,” said the No 10 official.
Meanwhile, the number of migrants who made unauthorised Channel crossings of the Channel this year passed 1,000 after more than 300 made the journey at the weekend.
The asylum scheme comes with a £290m, bill but a series of legal challenges has meant no flights have taken off since it was first proposed in 2022, when Boris Johnson was in No 10.
Under the plan, people who cross the Channel in small boats could be removed to Rwanda rather than being allowed to seek asylum in the UK. The legislation, along with the recently signed treaty with Kigali, is aimed at ensuring the scheme is legally watertight.
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The devastated family members of two teenage boys who were killed in a horrifying double-stabbing have told how their “lives will never be the same” - as police announced two more arrests.
Football fan Mason Rist, 15, and “kind soul” Max Dixon, 16, were stabbed in Bristol on Saturday night by a group of attackers who are said to have fled the scene in a car.
A resident who was first on the scene after the brutal attack told how Mason had begged her for help as he lay fatally injured in her former partner’s arms. Kirsty Kidd told The Independent: “We tried everything, I just wanted them to be ok.”
She added: “It could have been anyone including my own children, that’s the scary part.”
Avon and Somerset Police have launched a murder investigation following the killings in the Knowle West area of the city. A 44-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy were arrested shortly after the incident and remain in police custody. Detectives revealed on Monday they have arrested two more men aged 20 and 22.
This morning, Mason’s devastated grandmother visited the scene of the attack, where flowers, cards and candles have been left for the teenagers
Gail Iles revealed the youngster was a devoted Liverpool fan who tragically lost his dad Shayne Rist to Covid. She said it would be nice if the club sent a representative in tribute to the boy, adding: “It is so tragic.”
In a tribute shared on Facebook, a woman believed to be Max’s mum told how her life has been ripped apart by the tragedy.
“Devastated, our lives will never be the same without you my boy,” Leanne Ekland posted, alongside a picture of the smiling teen.
Max Dixon, 16, and Mason Rist, 15
(Supplied)
Max’s heartbroken sister Kayleigh also posted an emotional tribute on Facebook on Sunday, which said: “My baby brother… one of a kind you are.
“You sleep tight. A beautiful, kind soul gone. Just taken 16 years so young and innocent oh my heart is broken.
“I really hope you know how much we love you. How much I love you. You will be missed kiddo I’ll always look out for you in every sunset, shine bright lil’ bro.”
A mother, who did not want to be named, said she knew both Mason and Max through her daughter who attended Knowle Park Primary School with them.
She said they were “lovely kids” and that the community had been left devastated by the news of their deaths.
“People are scared to be outside today,” she told The Independent. “It is complete shock. How can two kids be attacked like this in the place where they live?”
Tributes at the scene in Bristol
(Alex Ross/Independent)
Tributes, candles and a family picture were left at the scene
(Alex Ross/Independent)
Ms Kidd, 30, was first on the scene with her former partner Scott Lovell, 31, following the stabbing at outside their home at around 11.20pm.
“I was sleeping in the front room and I heard a massive noise outside. I looked out and I saw the person [Mason] being stabbed,” she said.
“My ex-partner went to him and his first leg gave way and then both this legs gave way and he fell into Scott’s arms. He said ‘help me’.
“I then came out with a pillow and put his head on it before police arrived. When they took him away I was so scared for him as I saw his injuries. And when they later told me he had died I was devastated.”
Ms Kidd revealed she has received a message of thanks from Max’s sister Kayleigh, adding: “We tried everything, I just wanted them to be ok.”
The mum-of-five said her eldest - aged nine - had only come in the house a few minutes before the incident.
Charlie Hicks, 21, lives next to where Mason collapsed to the ground. He told The Independent: “I found out from the sound of the police and ambulance outside. I was going to bed. I looked outside the window and I saw him [Mason] on the floor with people around him.
“They [Max and Mason] are both innocent kids. They are nice, Max loved his football and played for Park Knowle FC. It’s just so tragic this can happened, everyone is in shock.”
Police said the victims sustained stab wounds and were taken to two hospitals - Southmead Hospital and Bristol Royal Hospital for Children - by ambulance, where they died in the early hours of Sunday morning.
At a packed meeting of residents on Monday, concerns were raised over escalating violence in post code wars between the Knowle West and Hartcliffe areas of south Bristol – amid fears the teens were “caught in the crossfire” of the turf wars.
Andy Pearce, 73, said: “I think they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time - that’s the tragic thing about all of this, it could have happened to anyone’s children. I don’t think they were targeted, they were attacked because they were living here.
“There was a rivalry between the areas [Knowle West and Hartcliffe] in the 70s but nothing this. It’s got worse over the past few years.”
Molly Morgan, 20, who lives on Ilminster Avenue, heard the sirens following the attack before walking up to find the area on her road cordoned off. She said: “It’s quite scary to think this could happen to anyone here.”
A vigil was held near the scene of the attack on Sunday, where people lit candles and placed flowers for the victims.
Tributes include flowers with messages reading “Mason and Max Rest in peace”, a sign stating “Stop knife crime RIP boys” and a note from Oasis Academy John Williams reading: “In loving memory of Mason and Max, gone but never forgotten”.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe fundraising page has been launched to “give these two little boys the send of they deserve”.
People lit candles at a vigil for the boys on Sunday night
Candles and a card at the vigil on Sunday
Football coach Scott Alden wrote a tribute to Max on Facebook: “I had the pleasure of knowing you and coaching you since you were a young boy, you were the cheekiest, happy, funniest boy a very talented footballer who loved his family and friends.
“I’m so sorry this happened to you, the world is a cruel and dangerous place now.”
The tributes come as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said tackling knife crime requires a “laser focus” as he called for the nation to “roll up our sleeves” and take action.
Responding to news of the latest tragedy during a visit to Warrington, he told broadcasters: “This is devastating for the family and friends of these two youngsters. I have teenage children myself. I cannot even imagine what it’s like for the family and friends.”
Hew added: “We can’t carry on with these awful stories of knife crime. We have to roll up our sleeves and do something about it.”
Detectives said they were trying to establish “what possible motives could sit behind such an appalling crime,” with over 100 officers working around the clock and more arrests expected.
Bristol Commander Superintendent Mark Runacres said: “It is with great sadness that we confirm the names of the two young boys, Mason Rist and Max Dixon, who died following the incident on Saturday night.
“Any death is awful, but the loss of Mason and Max, who had their whole lives in front of them, is particularly tragic and my heart breaks for the families who have to endure such unimaginable pain and suffering. Our thoughts remain with them during this time.”
He added: “Our investigation is progressing well, with four people arrested so far and more arrests are to come. We are committed to doing everything we can to hold to account those responsible for this horrendous crime and to provide answers to Max’s and Mason’s families.”
