London teen homicides: Boy's stabbing is record 30th killing

A 16-year-old boy has died after being stabbed in west London, making him the 30th teenage homicide in the capital in 2021, surpassing a peak of 29 in 2008.

The fatal stabbing on Thursday evening happened shortly after a 15-year-old boy was also found fatally wounded in Ashburton Park, Croydon, south London.

A boy, 15, has been held on suspicion of murder over the Croydon stabbing.

The 16-year-old victim was found by police and paramedics with a stab wound in Hillingdon but he died at the scene.

He was found at Philpots Farm Open Space, close to Heather Lane in Yiewsley, at 19:30 GMT, about half an hour after the first stabbing.

No arrests have yet been made in connection with the Hillingdon incident but officers have opened a murder inquiry. A post-mortem examination would "be held in due course", the Met said.

Neither boy has been formally identified, Scotland Yard added, but their family members had been informed and were being supported by officers.

The 15-year-old boy who died in Croydon was discovered injured after police had been called to Ashburton Park at about 19:00 GMT over reports of an assault.

He was given first aid by officers before paramedics arrived but died at the scene.

The Met said his family had been informed and that a post-mortem examination would take place on Saturday. The arrested 15-year-old boy remains in police custody.

Of the 30 teenage homicides in the capital this year, 27 of them have been stabbings while two have been shootings and one was the result of a suspected arson attack.

More than 40 teenagers in the capital have also been charged with murder during 2021.

Speaking from the scene in Croydon, Met Police Cdr Alex Murray said: "My message today, other than speaking to the families and friends of those that London has lost, is to say you cannot carry knives in London.

"This is what happens when knives are carried and we all have a role in relation to tackling knife crime."

He also had a direct message to parents, saying: "If you have concerns, talk to your kids.

"Make sure they're not carrying knives, make sure they're not hanging around with kids carrying knives."

The Metropolitan Police has opened 122 murder investigations in London this year, of which 79 are stabbings.

Violent crime is down generally, but not when it comes to young people under the age of 18 in London.

For the numbers of teenage homicides to have exceeded the previous high in 2008 will put new pressure on the Met.

To understand why it is happening, the government decided in the summer to increase the number of 'serious case reviews' of murder and manslaughter cases, especially in London.

No results have yet been published, but there are well known issues, and new developments.

Police say that disagreements between people on social media result in real-life violence.

They also blame the trend towards drugs being sold by "county lines" gangs who target vulnerable young people to involve them in the trade.

However, these have been trends for years and don't necessarily explain the latest surge.

Covid lockdowns, the closure of youth services and young people not being in school may be more relevant factors that have added additional chaos to troubled young lives, increasing their risk of being in violent situations.

Cdr Murray told the BBC that violent crime in London was down overall "but for teenagers it's not, our teenage homicide rate is tragically high".

He said he believed the increase was due to a combination of teenagers believing it was acceptable to carry knives, people "encouraging fight-back" between groups on social media, and children getting involved in county lines and drug dealing.

"Those three things are probably intersecting to create the peak in homicides in the capital," he explained.

Responding to the two killings, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the safety of Londoners "will always be my number one priority", before adding he was "investing record amounts in policing to put more officers on the streets".

"I refuse to accept that the loss of young lives is inevitable and will continue to be relentless in taking the bold action needed to put an end to violence in our city," he added.

Anthony King, chairman of the MyEnds programme, which aims to tackle knife crime in London, described the record number of deaths as like taking "10 steps forward and 11 steps backward".

He said he thought the rise in knife crime among teenagers was "because we're having a lot of breakdowns in schools, in education, young people are being excluded too quickly, some for minor incidents, there's breakdown in the homes".

"Parents, if you see a bread knife or bun knife missing from the home, please speak to somebody, please contact an agency or an organisation and let the teachers know," Mr King added.