A man has been fatally stabbed in a south London park, marking the latest act of knife violence on the streets of the capital.
Metropolitan Police have launched an investigation as the hunt for the assailant continues.
Officers were called to Straker’s Road, Peckham Rye Park, south London, at about 8.30pm on Friday after reports of a stabbing.
A man has been fatally stabbed in a south London park, marking the latest act of knife violence on the streets of the capital
Officers were called to Straker’s Road, Peckham Rye Park, south London, at about 8.30pm on Friday after reports of a stabbing
Despite the best efforts of London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance crews, the 29-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene half an hour later.
Scotland Yard said: ‘The man’s next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specialist officers.
‘A crime scene is in place and inquiries are ongoing.
‘No arrests have been made at this early stage of the investigation.’
Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to call Crimestoppers or 101.
Metropolitan Police have launched an investigation as the hunt for the assailant continues
Met Police responded to 13,405 incidents involving knives in just 12 months, in a further sign Lawless London has become the knife crime capital of the country.
Between October 2021 and June 2022, 49,991 non-fatal crimes using knives were recorded across England and Wales, according to crime survey data released by the Office for National Statistics.
This is equivalent to 136 incidents every single day.
In that period, knife offences recorded by the Metropolitan Police increased from 10,605 to 11,232, to a rate of 125 incidents per 100,000 population.
Of the 679 homicides investigated in England and Wales during that time, 38 per cent (258) were a result of an assault using a knife or sharp instrument.
But that data period does not include the recent spate of high-profile murders and attacks which have gripped the city in recent months.
Met Police responded to 13,405 incidents involving knives in just 12 months, in a further sign Lawless London has become the knife crime capital of the country
Between June and November this year, Met Police recorded a further 6,843 knife crimes, with 1,973 resulting in injury or death. In the 12 months to November, a total of 13,405 separate incidents were investigated.
The central borough of Westminster has the highest rate of offences by population with 253 since June, accounting for about one incident per 1,000 people, while Bromley, Kingston upon Thames and Richmond upon Thames have the lowest rates in London.
Kensington and Chelsea recorded 89 incidents, with 273 in Southwark, 113 in Greenwich and 120 in Islington.
August proved the most dangerous month across the board with 1,125 offences alone, compared to 850 in February.
Mayor Sadiq Khan first implemented a knife crime strategy in 2017 in an effort to tackle the epidemic, vowing to ‘divert young people at highest risk of offending and victimisation away from a life ruined by crime’.
‘Our communities are sick and tired of the damage being done by knife crime,’ he said.
