A teenage boy has appeared in court charged with the murder of two men.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested following the deaths of Barry Street, 32, and 18-year-old Nathan Oakley from suspected stab wounds in Ipswich on December 8.
Police had responded to reports of a stabbing at the West Meadows travellers’ site near the A14 in Ipswich.
The youth appeared at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court via video-link on Monday, charged with two counts of murder and one count of possession of a bladed article.
Dressed in a black T-shirt, he spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and that he understood the proceedings as he sat beside his solicitor.
No pleas were taken and the teenager is expected to appear at Ipswich Crown Court at 2pm on Monday. The night before his court appearance two caravans were set alight at West Meadows.
Emergency services were called at around 10.10pm on Sunday. A Suffolk police spokesman said it was not thought that anybody had been injured but “a number of officers” would remain at the site to offer reassurance to the community.
Four men and one teenage boy were arrested on suspicion of violent disorder during Sunday night’s incident.
Two men aged 31 and 22 from Ipswich, a 19-year-old man from Wickford, Essex, a 23-year-old man from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and a teenage boy were taken into custody for questioning.
A 20-year-old man from Wickford, Essex, was also arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage.
One of the men suffered injuries from a dog bite as they were arrested and was taken to hospital. A horse that was injured in the incident died at the scene.
