Teenager killed in London shooting as city’s homicide rate climbs

A 17-year-old girl was killed in a shooting in London and another teen was critically injured in an unrelated case as the homicide rate in the British capital continues to increase.

The teenage girl, named as Tanesha Melbourne, was found with a bullet wound in Tottenham on Monday night and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Two miles away, in Walthamstow, a 16-year-old boy was found to have been shot while another boy, 15, was stabbed.

Police say the shootings are not related.

A 21-year-old woman who knew Tanesha Melbourne, told the BBC the victim was “just chilling with her friends” when she was shot from a car for “no reason at all.”

“The car just pulled up and just started shooting,” she said.

The reported yesterday that the homicide rate in London so far has increased each month in 2018 as the British capital experiences a rise in kniferelated crime.

The Metropolitan Police said on Monday that there were eight homicide inquiries in January, 15 in February and 22 in March. Police reported another homicide on 1 April.

If the upward trend continues, there would be substantially more homicides in London in 2018 than took place in 2017.

The violence has alarmed Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, who believes social media is partly to blame. She says social media enflames young people and normalises violence, making people more likely to commit major crimes.

Dick has announced a substantial task force to combat street violence and said the use of “stop and search” tactics would be increased.