A teenager stabbed to death on a south London housing estate has been named as drill rapper JaySav. Identified only as John, he was just 16 years old and friends said he belonged to a local gang called LTH, Lower Tulse Hill. He made rap music videos in which he and others bragged about their exploits including ‘cheffing’ people – stabbing enemies.
They also rapped about ‘drugs, money and skeng – slang for pistol. One of his friends said: ‘John was in a gang, he had enemies. They did things – you know like gang stuff.
‘Whoever did this, they were not targeting John – they rolled up on his gang. John must have been on his own and that’s why they targeted him. ‘He was stabbed five times, in the heart and in the stomach. John was the youngest of three in his family, he was fun, he had a lot of banter. ‘Everyone in the area knew him as a fun guy.’ A witness recounted the moment John was attacked. The woman who lived on the Tulse Hill estate said: ‘A car drove onto the estate and then the boy was left laying on the floor.
‘I was absolutely terrified – his stomach had been slit open. The boy’s mum came driving down in an Audi and sounded the horn again and again. ‘She was screaming “save him, save him, God save my boy”.’
The death toll in London has reached 119 following JaySav’s death. Other friends described him as ‘bubbly’ and having ‘manners’. Police were called to reports of a shooting in Greenleaf Close at 10.53pm. Paramedics tried to save the teenager, but he was pronounced dead at 11.41pm. Officers believe the boy had suffered stab wounds and said there is no evidence that a gun was fired. Detective Chief Inspector Richard Vandenbergh said: ‘We believe the victim was attacked by a number of suspects and the altercation would have undoubtedly drawn the attention of those who were in the vicinity.
‘Did you see or hear anything? If so, no matter how insignificant you think it may be, please call – your information could prove to be crucial.’ So far in London this year there have been 119 violent deaths, including two cases that are being treated as self-defence.
A third of the 117 remaining cases (42) involved victims aged 16 to 24, while 20 were teenagers. The total is nearing that seen for the whole of last year, after five fatal suspected stabbings in the space of a week. In 2017 there were 118 homicides in the capital, excluding the victims of the terror attacks at Westminster Bridge, London Bridge and Finsbury Park
One witness to the aftermath of the Tulse Hill murder said the boy looked ‘like an angel’. Paulina Wedderburn saw the victim’s emotional mother and father were at the scene and said it took some 15 minutes for emergency crews to arrive.
‘The boy was laying down. He looked like an angel, like he was sleeping,’ Mrs Wedderburn said on Tuesday morning. ‘I just feel sorry for the mum. The mum’s screams, I can’t get out of my head. It’s awful. Imagine being a mother seeing that.’ The neighbour saw a black car driving off. ‘A big black Audi, I think,’ she said. Mrs Wedderburn, who has lived in a flat in Greenleaf Close for decades, lamented the recent spate of violence and killings in south London, saying it had not always been that way.
Culled from the Metro.
