London sees week of bloodshed, four killed by knives on the capital’s streets

Four people were killed in the past five days in knife attacks across London. The victims include a 17-year-old and a 20-year-old killed in the capital’s “nappy valley” – the most renowned of an elite group of London neighbourhoods considered ideal for families.

A 24-year-old man was stabbed in the neck and left to die on Tuesday evening, after an argument broke out between two groups near Wandsworth Common. Witnesses told The Evening Standard one of the attackers was heard to scream ‘I’ll show you what will happen’ before plunging the knife into the victim’s throat and then fleeing on foot, barging horrified bystanders out of the way. A Met spokesman said, according to the same source, that the victim was pronounced dead at the scene at 7.30pm, half an hour after police were called at the scene.

Two people – a 30-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman – were arrested on suspicion of murder in the Walworth area in the early hours of Wednesday morning, according to a Met Police press release received by EvoNews. Both remain in custody at a south London police station. Police say it is believed the victim became involved in an altercation involving a group in Melody Road before being stabbed.

The murder comes just days after another three people were killed in knife attacks. Police were called on Saturday, 22 April, to reports of a man suffering from a stab injury in Exeter Road, Enfield. Police officers, the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance attended, but the man, believed to be in his early 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene. Three young men were arrested on suspicion of murder and have been taken into police custody.

A 17-year-old boy suffering stab injuries was found by police called on Sunday, 23 April, in Ingrave Street, Battersea. The victim was taken to a south London hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The boy, named locally as Mohammed but known as Little Mo, was killed as he attempted to flee his attackers – a masked gang armed with machetes – on his bicycle. According to the Metropolitan Police, detectives from the Homicide and Major Crime Command are investigating, but no arrest has been made in this case.

On the same day, two men were stabbed and one died in Bow. Police were called to reports of an injured man and found a 54-year-old man suffering a head injury and a stab wound. Before being taken to the hospital, he indicated that another man was seriously injured inside a flat in Bow Common Lane. Officers went to this address and found a 60-year-old man suffering stab injuries. Officers administered first aid until the arrival of the London Ambulance Service, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene around midnight. A Met spokesman said the Homicide and Major Crime Command are investigating and there has been no arrest at this early stage.

“We are concerned about the rise of gun crime and rise of knife crime offences committed by young people and the changing nature of the offenders. Young people carrying knives are doing so for a variety of reasons including status, criminality and self-protection but only around a quarter are affiliated with gangs. Whilst we continue to focus on reducing stabbings by taking weapons and dangerous offenders off the streets, prevention and diversion from knife crime is key. There are complex social reasons why more young people are carrying knives and this cannot be solved by the police alone, we must work with communities to help combat knife crime,” Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt, responsible for Territorial Policing, recently said.

The Metropolitan Police Service has published its end-of-year crime statistics for 2016-2017 and according to data, the number of knife crimes is on the rise, with 12,074 such crimes in the past year compared to 9,742 in the 2015-2016 period.