A murder investigation has been launched after a teenager was fatally stabbed in Croydon, south London.
A murder investigation has been launched after police were called following reports of a seriously injured male at about 7pm on Sunday. They found the victim, thought to be 17 years old, with serious stab injuries and he died at the scene.
The Metropolitan police said: “Officers administered first aid before the London ambulance service arrived, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Police believe they know the identity of the victim and inquiries are under way to locate his next of kin.”
Detectives from the homicide and major crime command are investigating the crime and a cordon remains in place at the scene. Formal identification and a postmortem will also be arranged. There have no been no arrests so far.
Sarah Jones, the MP for Croydon Central, who recently called for a 10-year government strategy to combat the rise in stabbings, demanded “action not words” on knife crime.
“I am so very sad that yet another young boy has lost his life to knife crime in Croydon,” she said. “All my thoughts are with his family and friends and I can only imagine how I would feel if he was my own. We await more details but, time and time again, we’ve said ‘enough is enough’ as knife crime has doubled in a year.”
Highlighting the rising numbers of stabbings of young people in London and across the UK, she said knife crime had become “a public health crisis”.
“Now, we demand action, not words,” she said. “I’ve been pushing the home secretary to prioritise this epidemic among our young. It can’t be fixed with short-term thinking.
“We need a 10-year, cross-government strategy tying together policing and justice with an equally important focus on early stage interventions and community support, and recognition of new factors such as the influence of social media. But tonight, in Croydon, I am praying for a life lost, a family devastated, and a community in shock.”
