Girl, 16, arrested over south London stabbing

A16-year-old girl has been arrested on suspicion of murder over the stabbing of a man in south-east London last weekend.

The girl is the third person to be arrested over the killing of Ayodeji Habeeb Azeez, 22, in Anerley at lunchtime last Sunday.

She was arrested at an address in south London yesterday morning, the Metropolitan police said.

Two men, aged 19 and 21, were arrested on suspicion of murder on Sunday and both have been released under investigation.

Detectives believe Azeez was attacked by four or five suspects. A postmortem examination on Tuesday gave his cause of death as multiple stab wounds.

Azeez, from Dagenham, was one of five victims of knife crime in London in a six-day spell that has sparked renewed alarm about the rise of violent crime in the capital.

Detective chief inspector Mark Cranwell, who is leading the investigation, appealed for witnesses. In a statement, he said: “This attack took place in the middle of the day, in broad daylight in a residential street. It goes without saying that this incident would have stood out in what would normally have been a quiet environment.

“It appears that four or five male suspects were involved in the attack; both they and Ayodeji were seen to run into Samos Road from Grace Mews. By this point Ayodeji had been attacked. The suspects fled in one direction while Ayodeji went the other way before he collapsed.”

He added: “We need information from the public to assist us in keeping the momentum of this investigation moving forward.” On Monday night, 16-year-old John Ogunjobi, died in front of his parents in Tulse Hill. It was the 119th violent death in London so far this year.

Detective chief inspector Richard Vandenbergh, who is leading the investigation into Ogunjobi’s murder, also appealed for witnesses. “We believe the victim was attacked by a number of suspects and the altercation would have undoubtedly drawn the attention of those who were in the vicinity,” he said. The other three stabbing victims were Rocky Djelal, 38, Jay Hughes, 15, and Malcolm MideMadariola, 17.

Chief superintendent Simon Messinger, the commander of the Met’s central south command unit, said extra officers had been drafted into the area following the murders.

He said: “We have seen a spate of fatal stabbings in south London recently with five murders over the course of the last week. One murder is one too many with the devastation it causes to families, friends and communities difficult to comprehend.

“Tackling violence is a priority and one which remains at the forefront of all the work we do. This includes utilising our local resources but also supplementing them with resources from across the Met, including the violent crime taskforce.”