Murder probe as boy killed by 'zombie-style' knife

A murder investigation has begun after a teenage boy was stabbed to death in south-east London with what police believe was a "zombie-style knife".

The Metropolitan Police said officers and emergency services had been called to Eglinton Road in Woolwich just after 18:30 BST on Sunday.

Police said the boy, aged 15, had been found with a stab injury and died at the scene. Detectives are yet to make any arrests.

One witness said she had heard the boy say "don't let me die" as he lay injured on the ground.

Giving an update, Det Ch Supt Trevor Lawry said: "Once again we have had to tell a child’s family that their loved one has been killed in an act of violence using a knife. Our thoughts are with them as they struggle to comprehend what has happened.

"The fact that a 15-year-old teenager, who had his whole life ahead of him, has been taken from his family in this way, is a stark and sobering reminder of the danger of ‘zombie-style’ knives.

"We are committed to doing everything in our power to taking these weapons off our streets."

The death comes a day before new legislation will come in to force to make it illegal to possess “zombie-style” knives and machetes in England and Wales.

A 43-year-old woman, who has lived in the area where the boy was stabbed for 14 years and did not wish to be named, said she had tried to save the schoolboy.

"I was upstairs in my bedroom, I had my nightshirt on, I heard screaming from across the road saying 'someone's been stabbed, someone's been stabbed'," she said.

"So, I grabbed a sheet, I had no shoes or socks on or anything, and I just literally run to just near where the tent is, and there was someone laying face down on the floor."

She described seeing a "massive pool of blood" after his leg moved and the witness also said she saw a head wound.

"I just stemmed the flow of blood until the paramedics and that got here," she added.

"He was going to me 'I'm 15, I'm 15, don't let me die' and I said to him 'you're not going to die, mate'."

Another neighbour told BBC London she had picked up the boy's phone after it rang and she was able to get a friend to come to his side.

"I was back and forth with the boy on the floor and just trying to comfort him - he was saying 'I am 15' and 'to call my mum'," the witness said.

"People need to come together and not just say 'we need to do this and that'.

"We need to do it not just when the crime happens but to do something to prevent it from happening."

The Met said the boy's next of kin had been informed.

Throughout Monday morning, a white police tent stood in the middle of Eglinton Road in between a police cordon.

Speaking outside Plumstead police station Det Ch Supt Lawry said: "We know this murder will send shockwaves around the community."

A crime scene remains in place in and around the Eglinton Road area which is near Woolwich Common.

Det Ch Supt Lawry appealed for witnesses, dashcam and doorbell footage.

The new legislation on “zombie-style” knives and machetes will close a legal loophole and make it an imprisonable offence to own, make, transport or sell a wide range of what are called “statement” knives favoured by criminal gangs.

Zombie-style knives and machetes are defined as weapons with blades over eight inches (20cm) in length, normally with a serrated cutting edge.

An amnesty and compensation scheme has been running to encourage people to surrender their weapons ahead of the ban.

Additional reporting by PA Media.

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