The death of a 14-year-old boy almost three weeks after he was stabbed has marked a new low in Britain's knife crime crisis.
Detectives launched yet another murder inquiry after David Idowu lost his 20-day fight for life at an east London hospital.
The boy, attacked after a row spilled from football pitches on to a nearby street, became the 19th teenager to be killed in the capital this year.
His death came just two days after a senior London police officer said knife crime had overtaken terrorism as his officers' top priority.
Deputy Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson revealed the creation of a special knife-crime unit to address the recent spate of stabbings.
It was an admission that several weeks of high-profile stop-and-search operations do not appear to have discouraged dangerous young people from carrying weapons.
The litany of young dead has shocked police and politicians at a time when they would rather highlight how crimes of almost every kind are falling.
David, a schoolboy from Southwark, died at Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel earlier. He had been stabbed in the stomach and chest in Great Dover Street, SE1, on June 17 after a row with a gang of youths.
A 16-year-old boy has appeared at Camberwell Youth Court accused of attempted murder.
Devon Hanson, principal of Walworth Academy, where David was studying, said pupils and staff were shocked. He said: "This is a terrible and unnecessary tragedy and the whole school is deeply saddened. Our thoughts and condolences go to David's family and friends."
