Two teenage boys have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a boy, 14, was stabbed numerous times with a ten-inch blade in Islington, north London.
The two suspects, aged 14 and 15, were arrested on Monday morning after their alleged victim, 14, was found on Sunday by Metropolitan police officers with a “number of stab wounds” near Archway in Fairbridge Road, Islington, shortly before 7pm.
The victim remains in severe but stable condition. Following the incident he was airlifted to an east London hospital, the Met reported.
Another suspect, aged 11, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder but the Met said he has since been "de-arrested and released from custody."
Local resident and journalist Amina Taylor described how a fight involving two male adults and two teenagers had erupted before the perpetrator made his way to the group with a “big” knife.
"We could all see the knife in his hand. It was that big," she 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."
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."
Knife crime in London was up 21 percent in the year April to March 2017-18, according to the Metropolitan police’s crime statistics. Meanwhile, the murder rate over the same period increased by 44 percent in the capital – from 109 to 157 offences.
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