A 14-year-old boy was stabbed to death last night near a busy south London rail station.
Police were called reports of two groups clashing in London Road, West Croydon at 6.40pm.
Terrified shoppers and commuters “ran for their lives” in scenes of chaos as the young victim stumbled away and his attackers fled.
Scotland Yard said no suspects or victims were found at the scene near West Croydon station.
Thirty minutes later, the teenager turned up at a south London hospital with stab wounds.
Despite the efforts of medical staff, he was pronounced dead.
His death puts further pressure on Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick and Mayor Sadiq Khan to stop the bloodshed.
He is the 27th teenage homicide victim of 2021.
London has this year sadly passed the grim toll of 26 in 2019 and equalled the 27 in 2017.
One shop owner said: “There was total panic when these two groups stared fighting. They were battering each other when someone shouted “knife!”.
“It was chaos. They looked like young teenagers. Shoppers were running for their lives and members of the fighting gangs were also running from the scene after the stabbing.”
A mother-of-two, 31, whose flat overlooks the fight scene, said: “There was screaming and shouting, punching and kicking and then they all dispersed really fast.
“One young guy was stumbling away, he looked seriously injured.”
A crime scene has been put as murder squad detectives trawl for clues.
Footage from CCTV cameras that line the street is being retrieved by officers to establish the circumstances.
Another shop worker said: “There are so many fights around here, we fear for our lives.
“This one has ended up a murder but there are gangs facing each other down around here all the time.”
A Section 60, giving police greater stop and search powers, has been put in place in the areas of Broad Green, Fairfield, Waddon, west Thornton, Bensham Manor, Selhurst and Addiscombe West until 10.30am on Friday.
Police said formal identification of the victim had not yet taken place. A post-mortem examination will be carried out in due course.
There have been no arrests and enquiries continue.
Superintendent Andy Brittain, from the South Area Command Unit which covers Croydon, said: “This is a tragic loss of another young life to knife crime. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
“We have worked throughout the night with our colleagues from Specialist Crime to establish what happened yesterday evening, and this investigation remains ongoing.
“I would urge anyone who has information regarding a fight that was seen close to West Croydon Railway Station at about 6.45pm to please come forward and speak with us. We need to identify who was there and what led to a 14-year-old boy being killed.
“Tackling violence remains our top priority but we need your help. A family is grieving; any piece of information you have could be vital in giving them the answers that they so desperately need.
“Local residents can expect to see additional officers in the area and a crime scene is still in place. If you have any concerns, please speak with officers or contact your local neighbourhoods team.”
