A 17-year-old boy is among three people stabbed to death in London over the weekend whose killings are being investigated by the Metropolitan police.
The teenager was found with multiple stab wounds by police at 1.25am on Sunday in a council estate in Battersea, south-west London, after reports of a disturbance. He was taken to a south London hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2.50am.
Residents on Ingrave Street told the Evening Standard that they raised the alarm after being woken by the boy’s screams. “There were about six [attackers],” one said. “They jumped out of the car and started chasing him immediately. He was on his bike but they caught up with him and stabbed him.
“Someone shouted: ‘Police are coming,’ which stopped the others from finishing him off and they got in the car and sped off.” There have been no arrests. Police believe they know the identity of the victim and have informed his next of kin.
Three bunches of flowers were left around a tree close to where the teenager was killed. On the trunk was pinned a note: “For the 17-year-old boy who was murdered here on 23rd April ‘17. Rest in peace. We did not know you but our thoughts are with your family.”
A poignant message from the residents of the York Rd estate, Battersea, to the 17-year-old murdered on Sunday morning #stopknifecrime pic.twitter.com/6571HX6YYk
— Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) April 24, 2017
One local resident who came to see the tributes said she suspected the killing was linked to postcode rivalry between youths from Tooting and Battersea.
The 17-year-old was the fifth young person to be killed by a knife on London’s streets in 2017, according to the Guardian’s tally; nine others have been killed by blades elsewhere in the country.
The attack in Battersea occurred about 12 hours after a man was stabbed in Enfield, north London. Paramedics and a doctor from London’s air ambulance tried to save the life of the victim, thought to be in his 40s, but he was pronounced dead at the scene at 2.16pm.
Three suspects, aged 17, 18 and 21, were arrested on suspicion of murder and were being held by police while inquiries continued.
On Sunday night a 60-year-old man was found dead at 11.20pm in Bow after officers were directed to his location by a 54-year-old man who had also been stabbed.
Detectives from the Metropolitan police’s homicide and major crime command were investigating all three cases.
The new Metropolitan police commissioner, Cressida Dick, said that tackling knife and gun crime would mark out her tenure. On Monday, the temporary deputy assistant commissioner Duncan Ball urged people with information about the attacks to come forward.
“We have seen an increase [in knife crime] and the key to tackling this I believe is to stop young people from picking up knives in the first place,” he told the Evening Standard. “The police have to work together with the community and with schools and other groups to educate teenagers about the dangers of carrying knives.”
