Four stabbings, two shootings, one car death: Met pledges extra cops on the streets after lawless weekend in London
5 September 2022, 09:57 | Updated: 5 September 2022, 11:37
The capital has been rocked by a series of violent crime over the weekend, including two shootings, four stabbings and a 'machete brawl', as the Metropolitan Police say the public will see 'more officers' on the streets.
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Two shootings took place over the weekend including on Kensington High Street, located in a borough thought to be one of the wealthiest in the country, where a man believed to be in his twenties was fatally shot in the early hours of Sunday morning - a 29 year old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
On Saturday, a 24-year-old man was taken to hospital after being shot in Hackney, East London.
Four stabbing incidents also took place across the capital this weekend.
A 47-year-old man was rushed to hospital on Sunday after being stabbed in South London, with the man's injuries being described as non-life changing and non-life threatening, and separately a 20-year-old man was stabbed in Ilford in east London - his injuries are said to be 'potentially life-changing'.
In Nunhead, in south east London, a 16-year-old teenage is fighting for his life after being stabbed, and a man, 21, has been arrested for attempted murder.
In Bow, East London a teenager was stabbed to death and another suffered serious injuries after a "disturbance involving a large number of people" in the early hours of Sunday.
A fight involving around 100 people was reported to have broken out, with some individuals armed with machetes, leaving a 17 year old boy dead while a boy believed to be 18 remains in a critical condition in hospital.
A murder investigation has been launched, but no arrests have been made so far.
In south London a man, 53, has died after a crash between his e-scooter and a car. The man was rushed to hospital, but died just under two hours later.
The car involved stopped at the scene and no arrests were made.
Good Morning Britain news presenter, Noel Phillips, revealed that early Saturday morning he was "mugged, racially assaulted and spat on" in central London - Philips said he was okay and thanked police officers for helping "catch and detain" the alleged attacker.
London also saw more attempted thefts this weekend - in Mayfair a group of friends were attacked by a "knife-wielding" gang who launched a failed attempt to steal their watches, before escaping the scene on a moped.
The man and two women, who left Socialista bar in the early hours, realised they were being followed and took their watches off, hiding them in one of their bags.
The man ran off in a different direction in a bid to distract the suspects. It's alleged the thugs threatened to kill one of the victims, however police have not confirmed these reports.
Mopeds have been used as getaway vehicles in multiple theft attempts, with their size and speed allowing riders to cut down pavements and alleys to make quick getaways.
Speaking to LBC last week, Detective Inspector Treasa O'Donoghue who oversees the Met's Scorpion team - a highly specialised unit targeting criminals using mopeds to commit robberies - told LBC attacks plaguing the capital are "absolutely sickening" but insisted that Londoners should not put their day-to-day lives on pause and instead be "extra vigilant".
"If you're wearing that type of watch [a Rolex] and it does stand out I just ask people to be extra vigilant.
"I'm not here to say or dictate to anybody 'don't wear your watches, hide them away'…that's just ridiculous.
"It's up to you as an individual - all we're asking is to be more aware of where you are and who's around.
"It's the campaign that's been going on for a while now: look up, look out."
She also said her team are ‘struggling’ as criminals have switched tactics to use e-scooters as getaway vehicles because they know officers are less likely to use the controversial tactic of knocking them off the vehicle due to the increased risk.
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Responding to the violence in the capital this weekend, Commander Rachel Williams, violence lead for the Met said: "I am deeply saddened by each homicide we have tragically seen so far this year. Each and every death is devastating and has a huge impact on families and communities.
"These devastating losses continue to motivate every single officer in the Met to catch those responsible, bring justice to their families and take weapons off the street. We are devoting huge resources into preventing these awful crimes from happening in the first place, including bespoke operations in the areas with the highest levels of violence.
"The public can expect to see more officers on the streets, to help reassure communities."
