A mother ‘stabbed to death by a woman’ and two fatal shootings... all in 8 hours
THREE people were killed in the space of eight hours on another day of violence and bloodshed in London on Sunday.
A mother of a six-year-old boy and a man aged 24 were killed within minutes of each other – and less than 500 yards apart – in the latest tragic episode of Wild West Britain.
Eight hours earlier, a gunman died after reportedly shooting himself accidentally with a shotgun that he was using to smash a car in Sydenham, south-east London.
Anti-knife campaigner Shakira Mercedes, 22, was said to be in the ‘ wrong place at the wrong time’ when she was stabbed in the chest in Chalk Farm, north London, on Sunday night. Detectives were last night questioning a woman, 35, who was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Residents told how Miss Mercedes had been among a ‘very noisy’ group of about nine people who appeared to be in pyjamas and ‘having a laugh’ just after 11pm.
A woman said she went out to tell the group to ‘pack it in’ before going to bed – only to hear panicked screams of ‘ we need help’ soon after.
Friends said Miss Mercedes had been ‘sticking up for someone else’ when she was stabbed. Two other women suffered slash wounds during the dispute.
Camden Against Violence founder Terry Ellis said Miss Mercedes regularly attended the campaign group’s events and described her as ‘just a normal mum’.
He said: ‘As far as I know, it was an argument she wasn’t really involved in. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
‘It wasn’t gang-related, it wasn’t drug-related. She was a wonderful young lady, always happy. She’s got a lovely son and was just a normal mother.’
An aunt of Miss Mercedes, who did not want to be named, broke down in tears at the scene of the killing yesterday. She said: ‘I’m confused and I’m angry. Why do girls carry knives? Why does anybody carry knives? I’m just sad her life has been wasted by foolishness – I’m sure it was foolishness. It’s people being stupid.’
Miss Mercedes’s friend Ronney James, 21, described her as a ‘really, really good mum’ who ‘adored’ her son. She added: ‘She was part of everyone’s life, she helped everyone. She was part of my family. She was lovely.’
Residents – who said there had been two fatal stabbings nearby last year – told how they were terrified to let their children out on their own. One said: ‘Things are just getting worse. I have lived here since I was three. My mum used to let me play out until 10pm. I wouldn’t let my kids out at 10pm now. You must be having a laugh.’ Anne Amazonas, a 57-year- old former care worker whose flat overlooks the murder scene, said: ‘Nowhere is safe at the moment. It is happening everywhere.’
Only 15 minutes after Miss Mercedes was stabbed, a 24-year-old man was pronounced dead from a ‘tennis ball-sized’ gunshot wound to the chest outside a music venue in Belsize Park.
A resident told how he tried to save the life of the young black man with CPR after finding the victim unconscious in a pool of blood. A police spokesman said a moped rider with a pillion passenger drove down the road towards the Fiddler’s Elbow pub before the suspects took out a gun and shot the victim at close range. There had been no arrests last night.
Chief Superintendent Raj Kohli, of Camden and Islington Police, said: ‘My thoughts are with the family and friends of the two people who died last night. My senior team and I met this morning and police presence will be increased.’