One in 15 older teens have carried or used a weapon in the past year, says study June 30, 2021, 12:08 am The study found that one in 15 older teenagers had carried or used a knife in the previous year (Alan Simpson/PA) One in 15 older teenagers have carried or used a weapon in the past year, a new study suggests. Analysis of data from more than 13,000 17-year-olds in 2018/19 found that 6.4% said they had carried or used a weapon in the previous 12 months, compared to 3.7% of 14-year-olds. Boys were twice as likely as girls to say that they had done so. (8.8% compared to 3.9%) The information came from the UK Millennium Cohort Study that is following the lives of thousands of children who were born in the home nations in 2000-02.