Archway stabbing: Boys, aged 14 and 15, arrested after teen stabbed with '10-inch kitchen knife' in frenzied attack

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Two teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a 14-year-old boy was stabbed repeatedly with a "10-inch kitchen knife" in a frenzied attack.

The young suspects, aged 14 and 15, were held at addresses in Archway, north London, in the early hours of Monday morning, the Metropolitan Police said.

Their alleged victim remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition after he was attacked during a fight between men and other teenagers in Fairbridge Road, Islington, on Sunday evening.

Police and paramedics at the scene
PA

Journalist and local resident Amina Taylor, 40, described seeing a young boy running down the road with a large "gleaming" knife before stabbing the victim in the stomach.

She told how she heard shouting outside her flat overlooking Fairbridge Road and went to her balcony where she saw a fight involving two men and two young teenagers.

The scene in Fairbridge Road near Archway, north London
PA

Within a few minutes another young boy ran down the road towards the group carrying what looked like a kitchen knife as onlookers shouted for the fight to stop, she said.

"We could all see the knife in his hand. It was that big," Ms Taylor said.

"You could hear the screams of 'No, stop it, don't do anything, don't be stupid' and he went for [one of the adults] first but then he was kind of swinging wildly and then he just thrust the knife into the stomach of the teenager,” she added.

She said she was shocked to see "somebody who is clearly barely taller than my nine-year-old son coming down with a weapon in his hand".

Police remained at the scene on Sunday
PA

She described seeing the "big" and "cumbersome" weapon gleaming as she watched from her second floor flat.

The injured youngster was airlifted to hospital where his family were at his bedside, officers said.

Detectives are keeping an open mind as to a motive of the attack, Scotland Yard said in statement.

Police taped off the street following the stabbing
PA

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "Incidents like this have a devastating impact on families and our communities and we need to send the message that they will not be tolerated.

"Politicians, the police and all Londoners must unite in saying it is never acceptable to carry a knife - and it does not make you safer."

Shopkeeper Abdullah Ozcelik, who works nearby, said: "These people are just little children. It should be unbelievable. It should not happen to anyone."

Shopkeer Abdullah Ozcelik, who works nearby, said he was not surprised the violence involved youngsters or that it happened locally.

He said: "These people are just little children. It should be unbelievable. It should not happen to anyone.

"Obviously it is a horrible thing to happen because people are scared. It is a bad thing for the area and a bad thing for business.

"It is more than one life that is probably ruined by this - it is the boy who was stabbed and whoever stabbed him."

He said a crowd gathered when ambulances, a helicopter and police rushed to the scene and this was when he knew something "horrible" had happened.

An 11-year-old boy who was initially arrested on suspicion of attempted murder has since been de-arrested, released from custody and faces no further action.

Witnesses were asked to contact police at the Central North Command Unit quoting reference CAD7206/1JUL or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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