Three people are in life-threatening condition, including a 15-year-old boy, after a series of stabbings took place within the span of 90 minutes across London.
London police were called to Barking in East London, where a man in his 30s was attacked with a knife. The attack is being linked to another knife attack that occurred soon after in neighbouring Dagenham, leaving a 19-year-old man hospitalised. So far, two men have been arrested for attempted murder in connection to the attacks/
Another victim, a 15-year-old boy, was stabbed with a knife at around 5:15 pm after being dragged from his moped in Hackney. The attack, which is believed to have been gang-related, left the boy in critical condition with a massive wound to the head, reports the Evening Standard.
“We were looking out the window and the boy was on the floor, one of the neighbours was there with him too and police officers were surrounding him. There was a helmet in the middle of the road, he was dragged off his bike and stabbed,” a local resident said.
“I have a 15-year-old too so it is worrying. There seems to be stabbings everyday but it is a shock when it happens on your doorstep,” another resident said.
A half-hour after the attack against the 15-year-old, another man in his 30s was left in critical condition after being assaulted during a fight in Ilford, reports The Sun.
Police have activated stop and search powers in Barking and Dagenham for 24 hours following the attacks.
During the tenure of London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the capital has been plagued by knife crime. An analysis from London Assembly’s Conservatives claimed that following Khan’s election in 2016, knife crime has risen by 52 per cent in the city.
Last year in London there was a total of 149 homicides, the highest murder rate in a decade. The majority of murders were committed with knives, with 90 people being stabbed to death, compared to 55 just five years earlier.
