Camden stabbings: Two men knifed to death in Kentish Town in worst night of violence in London since New Year's Eve when four men died

Two young men were last night stabbed to death within half a mile of one another  ++++ Police impose blanket stop and search powers in Camden ++++  Boy stabbed on estate where 200 mourners had gathered for another stab victim
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Two young men were last night stabbed to death within half a mile of one another in the deadliest night of knife violence since New Year’s Eve, when four young men died.

A 17-year-old boy died in the street after being “jumped” outside a corner shop in Kentish Town, Camden at 8.30pm last night as he went to buy a drink, witnesses said.

Less than two hours later, a man was found suffering fatal knife wounds following a disturbance in nearby Malden Road, Belsize Park.

There were also unconfirmed reports of a number of other stabbings across Camden as police imposed blanket stop and search powers across the borough.

Police imposed broad stop and search powers across the borough to prevent further violence
Nigel Howard

The 17-year-old boy was attacked yards from his home on the Peckwater estate, where 200 mourners had gathered on Sunday after Lewis Blackman, 19, was stabbed to death in Earl’s Court.

Shocked family and friends gathered at the NW5 Community Play Project late last night as police sealed off the scene at the corner of Islip Street and Bartholomew Road.

One resident, who didn’t want to be named, said: “The boy was playing football on the green just after 7pm. I see him playing football every day and going to school, and he went to the shop to get a drink.

“I heard there was blue van and someone jumped on him, and he got stabbed.

There were unconfirmed reports of further stabbings elsewhere in the borough
Nigel Howard

“His mum saw him die. What do you say to someone who just watched their child die? He’s 17 - he’s just a baby. He was never rude, he was lovely. I saw him taking his brother to play football.”

The boy is the sixth teenager to be stabbed to death in 2018, and the fourth in less than two weeks. He was pronounced dead at the scene just before 9.10pm.

The woman added: “This is terrible. An innocent baby is dead. This is not good for these innocent children just walking around. He’s got nothing to do with violence that child.

Lewis Blackman, 19, was stabbed to death earlier this week

“He just went to the corner shop to get a drink and now he’s just lying there. They put pictures of his dead body on the internet and there’s a scorecard going around.”

A police cordon was also in place last night nearly 200 yards away in Busby Place where a weapon, thought to be a large knife, was recovered.

Meanwhile, shocked residents gathered at the scene in Malden Road as one victim's distraught mother was comforted by relatives.

One witness said: “When I left here he was still alive. The ambulance is there, everyone is there, and no one is covering his body, until now.

“His mother is here, his brother is here, everyone is here, and they’re not doing nothing.”

As news of the stabbings spread on social media last night users vented their despair at the latest outbreak of knife violence in the capital.

One wrote: “Prayers with those who have lost their younger brothers/sons tonight in Camden. We have been doing a lot as a community to address gang culture/following the wrong crowd but it seems like it is not enough.”

Another posted: “My heart bleeds for Camden man”.

The Metropolitan Police said there had been no arrests in either investigation.

Any witnesses, or anyone with information that may assist police, is urged to call officers via 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT