Murder, machetes
■ Boy stabbed to death and man shot dead in London carnage ■ Violence erupts between rival groups after protests at embassy ■ New Met chief told to get a grip
A NIGHT of bloodshed in London saw two murders in under two hours yesterday.
A boy of 17 was stabbed to death in a mass machete brawl said to have involved up to 100 people. Shortly afterward a man was shot dead in an affluent part of west London.
The carnage came on the day that Priti Patel wrote to incoming Met Commissioner Sir Mark rowley urging him to tackle a surge in violent crime.
In the first incident, a teenager was fatally stabbed in the neck in a machete fight a stone’s throw from a historic square in Bow, east London. An 18-year-old was also seriously injured in the chaos shortly after midnight.
Officers flooded in and multiple streets were taped off around Tredegar Square, where houses can cost £2million.
Yesterday afternoon more than a dozen police vehicles were still at the scene, with forensic teams scouring drains and bins for evidence and mounted officers on patrol.
Inspector Annelie Bartlett told residents: ‘An incident involving serious violence has taken place after a call to over 100 persons fighting armed with machetes.
‘It is believed to have originated from a number of uninvited persons attending a party. One male received a stab wound to the neck and was receiving CPR. A further victim with a head injury was located.
‘Weapons have not been recovered and it is believed there are still persons armed in the vicinity, and concerns there will be reprisals. We do not know the identity of all the individuals or groups who may be carrying weapons or firearms.
‘I am concerned that local gangs or fellow partygoers may be looking for revenge.’
A Section 60 order was brought in allowing officers to stop and search without any cause for suspicion.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark rogers, of the Met’s specialist crime command, said: ‘ This is a highly worrying incident that has left one young man dead and another fighting for his life in hospital. I am aware of reports saying about a hundred people, armed with weapons were involved.
‘While I would stress that our investigation is in its very early stages, this information does not appear to be wholly accurate.
‘We know a significant number of people were caught up in this incident but not necessarily directly involved or armed with weapons.’
A short time later shots were reported to have been fired in Kensington high Street. Officers disto covered a man in his 20s suffering from fatal wounds.
he was taken to hospital where he died shortly after 5.30am.
A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and is being questioned by detectives.
Last night there was speculation online that the victim may have been a rapper on the London grime music scene.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘At 2:02am on Sunday, September 4, police were called to Kensington high Street following reports of a firearms discharge. Officers attended and carried out a search of the area. They found a man – believed to be in his 20s – with gunshot wounds and provided emergency first aid until the arrival of the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance.
‘The man was taken to a central London hospital where he died at 5:32am. his next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.’
Violence flared again later in an unrelated incident close to the eritrean embassy in Islington.
A fight broke out between rival protest groups armed with poles and other makeshift weapons but no one was seriously hurt.
The surge in violence in parts of the capital has left some residents afraid to leave their homes at night. Yesterday a 19-year- old woman beaten by a mob of youths in a mobile phone mugging said she felt unsafe in London.
Chloe Miller was on her way to a corner shop in South Norwood with her mother and sister when she was set upon by thugs who punched and kicked her to the ground, leaving her with concussion and bruising.
She said: ‘People just need to stop doing all this. London’s getting to be a very, very bad place. I can’t go out now.
‘I definitely wouldn’t be able to go out at that time of night again now, even in my own street.’
Scotland Yard has invested millions in fighting gun and knife violence. But the home Secretary believes the force should do more ‘beat crime down’. Miss Patel told Sir Mark, who will become commisioner on September 12: ‘Whilst recorded crime remains below the pre-pandemic levels, it has been rising over the last year and I am very concerned that violent crime levels are now above pre-pandemic levels.’
In the three-page letter, Miss Patel detailed a succession of scandals that have battered public confidence including the murder of Sarah everard by Met officer Wayne Couzens and failures to investigate serial killer Stephen Port which a jury concluded ‘ probably’ allowed him to kill another three men after his first murder in 2014.
She also referenced the exposure of a group of officers at Charing Cross police station who swapped jokes about raping women and killing black children and an inquiry into the murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan that found the force was ‘institutionally corrupt’. To cap it off, in June the Yard was plunged into special measures by her Majesty’s Inspec
‘Gangs may be looking for revenge’
‘Scouring drains for evidence’
torate of Constabulary and Fire and rescue Services, which identified 14 new blunders.
She wrote: ‘Several recent highprofile incidents have affected public trust and confidence across communities particularly in London – raising serious questions about the culture and standards in the MPS.
‘These include Sarah everard’s murder, strip searches of children, the vetting of police officers, basic respect and standards as exposed in the misconduct at Charing Cross police station in Operation hotton, and the findings of the inquest into the handling of the deaths of Anthony Walgate, gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth, and Jack Taylor. Londoners need to be assured that improvements are being made immediately and will have an impact.
‘I expect the Metropolitan Police, under your leadership, clearly to demonstrate that it will learn from the appalling mistakes of the past and move the culture away from the organisational defensiveness that has hindered progress and damaged public trust.’
Tredegar Square is one of the few complete 18th century squares in the capital, with three sides georgian and the fourth Victorian. It is near Mile end station and is often used for filming, including the movie Wilde starring Stephen Fry.