New year, new horror in knife crime Britain

Four youths are stabbed to death in the capital alone

TWO teenagers were among four young men stabbed to death in London in a series of New Year knife attacks spanning 15 hours.

The 17 and 18-year- olds, as well as two other victims aged 20, were murdered in separate incidents, with one chased by a mob after a row on a bus.

The attacks came despite thousands of police officers flooding the streets to secure the midnight celebrations in the capital.

They brought the toll of murdered teenagers in London last year to 26, the highest number for a decade. Twenty of the victims were fatally stabbed.

Mayor Sadiq Khan, who is responsible for the ‘London needs you alive’ campaign, condemned the violence and called on police to do everything possible to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Commander Neil Jerome, of the Metropolitan Police, said ‘ small groups’ were responsible for disorder and violence that led to ‘utterly tragic consequences’.

He added: ‘It is heart-breaking that, at a time when so many of us are contemplating what lies ahead in 2018, four families are dealing with the grief of losing a loved one to senseless violence and the callous use of knives as lethal weapons.’

The first murder took place shortly before noon on New Year’s Eve when an 18-year-old man was fatally stabbed in Enfield, north east London.

Police are investigating whether the victim, who died in hospital that evening, was attacked by a gang. Five men were being questioned last night.

The second victim, a 20-year-old, lost his life at around 7.30pm when he was stabbed in a residential street in West Ham, East London.

Police said he was ‘with a number of people’, many of whom have not contacted investigators.

The third attack took place among crowds of revellers shortly before 11pm near the railway sta- tion in Tulse Hill, south London. Police believe the 17-year-old victim was chased off a bus after a row before being fatally stabbed.

Witnesses said they heard about ten young men shouting at each other before a police officer tried to revive the youth after he colkid lapsed near a bus stop. He had been stabbed once. Local resident Clive Harriott, 56, said: ‘There was a fight or a big argument.’

A small group who visited the scene yesterday to leave flowers said the victim was a college student. One added: ‘He was a good from a good background. He had supposedly come for a party.’

The final attack took place in the early hours yesterday in a side street in fashionable Clerkenwell in central London.

The 20-year- old victim died at the scene. A second man, aged in his 20s, was fighting for his life last night after also being stabbed.

Meanwhile, in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, businessman David Clark, 49, was arrested after his wife Melanie, 44, suffered a fatal stab injury at their semidetached home shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve.

In Sheffield, two men suffered life-threatening injuries when five people were stabbed during a fight outside a city centre bar.

Knife crime is at the top of the agenda for police chiefs this year amid surging levels of violence on the streets.

Many are defying political pressure to reduce the use of stop and search tactics, saying that when done properly challenging people can save lives.

Mr Khan said: ‘It is horrific that knife crime has claimed another four young lives as the New Year begins. We will work tirelessly to stamp out this scourge.

‘I want to be absolutely clear – if you use a knife, the full force of the law will be brought down on you.’

Cmdr Jerome said most people in the capital were able to enjoy New Year’s Eve but ‘there were small groups who chose to engage in disorder and violence [with] utterly tragic consequences’.

‘The callous use of knives’