Four Teens and One Adult Convicted of Murdering Two Boys in Brutal Attack

Four teens and one adult were convicted on Friday of murdering two boys, 15-year-old Mason Rist and 16-year-old Max Dixon, in a brutal attack.

What Happened to Mason Rist and Max Dixon?

Rist and Dixon were chased down and attacked by the four teens armed with machetes, a bat and a sword as they went to get pizza near their homes in Bristol, southwest England, on January 27.

Prosecutor Ray Tully said during a five-week trial at Bristol Crown Court that Rist and Dixon were the victims of a rivalry between their Knowle West neighborhood and the nearby Hartcliff district.

Rist and Dixon were wrongly identified by the four teens as being responsible for throwing bricks at a Hartcliffe house earlier in the day.

The attack, which lasted just 30 seconds, sent Rist and Dixon to a hospital where they died hours later.

Teens and 45-Year-Old Found Guilty Of Murder

The four teens who attacked Rist and Dixon and the getaway driver, 45-year-old Antony Snook, were all found guilty on Friday of murdering the two boys.

Three of the teens, aged 15, 16 and 17, could not be identified because of their ages. The fourth teen is 18-year-old Riley Tolliver.

The four teens and Snook will be sentenced at a later date.

Attack 'Sent Shockwaves' Through Bristol

Vicky Cook, chief crown prosecutor for southwest England, said Rist and Dixon's deaths "sent shockwaves through their community and the city of Bristol."

The number of fatal stabbings has remained mostly unchanged in England and Wales over the past decade, but an overall rise in knife crime paired with attention-grabbing attacks has stoked fears among locals.

Knives and other blades are often criminals' weapons of choice in parts of the world that ban or strictly regulate guns, including Britain.

"Regardless of which individuals caused any of the fatal injuries, the evidence shows that all five [defendants] were working together and share joint responsibility for this terrible crime," Cook said.

Dixon's Mother Speaks Out

Leanne Ekland, Dixon's mother, said, "Today's outcome doesn't change the fact that two families go home without their boys."

"We can now hopefully begin to process that and remember them both and the happy memories that both families have of Max and Mason," she said. "I wish we didn't have to be here today, but we've got some sort of justice for our boys."

This includes reporting from The Associated Press.