It’s a horrific image of knife crime UK: Four teens stabbed, one disembowelled and another in his ankle tag. The trigger? A petty row over a belt ...
SPRAWLED among pools of blood on a grimy council estate road, these are the victims of the latest explosion of violence to shame Wild West Britain.
Police officers and paramedics tend to teenage boys stabbed and slashed in a terrifying mass knife fight.
Victims aged 15 and 16 were left writhing in agony after less than ten minutes of ‘utter mayhem’ in south-east London.
Two of the schoolboys had gaping stomach wounds, with one who was disembowelled screaming for his mother.
Several weapons, including so- called zombie knives, machetes and even a medical crutch that had been used as a club, littered the floor. At least one victim is wearing a GPS tag, possibly imposed by a court.
Incredibly, the teenagers tried to fight even after they were surrounded by police. One screamed, ‘I’m going to f*****g kill him’, as officers manhandled him into a van.
Residents compared the estate to a ‘warzone’, claiming it had become like the notorious Bronx district of New York.
Lorraine Wooller, who moved to escape the violence, told LBC radio: ‘I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s getting like The Bronx, it’s disgusting. There’s always gangs. It gets worse every day. You’re too scared to come out of your house.’
Locals believe the violence on the Elmington Estate in Camberwell was sparked by a petty dispute among teenage gangs from rival estates. One said the fight was the culmination of six months of violent skirmishes.
Up to 30 youths were seen running around the blocks and jumping from first-floor balconies. One group is believed to have gathered to settle a score before being overwhelmed by locals lying in wait.
A resident whose flat overlooks the scene said: ‘There was a group of youths shouting at each other. One had a big hunting knife and he was screaming, “I want my belt back”. The knife was about 16in long.
‘ I went indoors because I assumed no one would get seriously hurt over a stupid belt.’
Brian Delgado, 57, said: ‘It was over 20 teenagers, and I thought someone is going to get a kicking here. The next thing was I saw one of them bleeding... lying on the ground screaming for his mum. It was mayhem.
‘I saw a person throwing what looked like a belt towards him as he just lay there, as if to say, “Here, have it then”.
‘As I walked to my house, a guy popped up holding a huge hunting or zombie knife, about 18in. He was really panicked and tried chucking the knife into a tipper truck. He obviously thought it was not a good
hiding place and then chucked it under a Ford Focus.
‘A white van turned up. The driver shouted, “Oi, come here”, and the kid jumped in. The van tore off. Whoever helped him should be ashamed.’
Superintendent Annmarie Cowley said: ‘If there needed to be an example of the utter senselessness of knife crime, then this is it.
‘Four males are in hospital. It is beyond comprehension.
‘If you are not a person who would speak to police but you know something, think of the families who have a loved-one in hospital. Do the right thing and speak to us. Those responsible should not go unpunished.’
One mum said a 2ft blade was left by her home, adding: ‘What really scared me was the size of the knife. It was like a machete. There was blood on it.’
There were fears last night for the life of the most seriously injured boy, who remained in a critical condition. Another is in a serious but stable condition. The two others received injuries to their arms and hands, but were not seriously hurt.
A 15-year-old boy was charged with possession of a bladed article and cannabis, and was bailed to appear at Camberwell Youth Court on September 5. Five other boys, all 15 or 16, were bailed to return to a south London police station next month.
The violence took place near where rapper Sidique Kamara, 23, known as Incognito, was stabbed to death this month.
Two other men were killed in attacks yesterday. One, in his fifties, was stabbed less than a mile away off Old Kent Road, while a man, 42, was found with fatal knife wounds in Waltham Forest, east London. Police arrested a woman, 35, and a boy, 16.