Delivery driver fatally stabbed in north London 'road rage attack'
4 January 2020, 08:50
The Metropolitan Police have launched their first murder investigation of the year after a delivery driver was stabbed to death in north London.
The victim, aged 30 and named locally as Taki, was found on Charteris Road in Finsbury Park at around 6.50pm.
According to friends gathered close to the scene, he was the victim of a road rage attack following an altercation with a car driver.
He is believed to be Algerian and worked for both UberEats and Deliveroo.
A friend of the victim said: "He was a good man. He doesn't make any trouble - he works and he goes home and he ends up being killed while he's working.
"This country is getting worse.
"Its not safe to work by yourself anymore - what can you do? If someone comes at you with a knife you give them what you have or they are going to stab you."
Some of those gathered said they had been repeatedly attacked in the neighbourhood by young gang members - often still in their teens.
One said: "We've been attacked many times here.
"I was attacked here by people with a big machete and now this man has been killed for no reason.
"The police do nothing. They just come, take a statement and then they go."
One rider said they felt unsafe "100 per cent" of the time.
No arrests have been made and inquiries continue, the Met said.
A forensic tent has been erected while a police cordon is still in place.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for more protection for delivery drivers after visiting the scene.
Mr Corbyn, who is MP for Islington North, said: "Delivery drivers do a great job in London all of the time. Yet they are vulnerable.
"They're often on zero hours contracts, yet the food they are carrying is insured. So the delivery driver is less valuable than the food they are carrying."
He added: "I am totally shocked. This is a very close knit community, and this is yet another stabbing on the streets of London."
Islington Council leader Richard Watts tweeted: "I'm horrified to hear about this appalling crime" and added: "What an awful start to the New Year."
Detective Chief Inspector Neil John said: “The investigation is at a very early stage. It would appear at this time that an altercation has taken place between the victim, who was riding a motorcycle, and the driver of another vehicle in the vicinity of Lennox Road and Charteris Road, Finsbury Park.
"This took place at approximately 6.50pm on Friday night in a busy thoroughfare where there are likely to have been many members of the public present.
"The incident itself appears at this early stage to have been spontaneous and not connected to, or as a result of, anything other than a traffic altercation.
“Specialist officers are working extremely hard to build a clear picture of what happened and I would encourage anyone who may have seen the incident or has information to come forward.
"A forensic examination of the scene has been undertaken and I expect the road to reopen very soon."
