South London stab victim who pleaded 'I'm 15, don't let me die' was killed with a 'zombie knife' two days before ban

23 September 2024, 15:54 | Updated: 23 September 2024, 15:56

The teenage victim of a fatal stabbing in south-east London on Sunday was stabbed using a "zombie-style" knife just two days before a ban on the weapons comes into force.

The Met was called to reports of a disturbance on Eglinton Road, Woolwich, at around 6.30pm on Sunday, with the force arriving to find the schoolboy bleeding out in the street.

The teenage victim, who is yet to be identified, was found with a serious stab wound to his leg - now believed to have been inflicted using a "zombie-style knife" eyewitnesses and police have confirmed.

Witnesses who attempted to save the teenager have since recounted his final words, with the boy pleading: "I'm 15, don't let me die" shortly before succumbing to his injuries.

In an update on Monday afternoon, Detective Chief Superintendent Trevor Leary confirmed a murder investigation is "now underway".

He added that "extra-police are working in the area" but admitted "no arrests have been made" in connection with the case.

It comes just two days before a ban on the weapons is due to come into force, after the government announced that possessing zombie-knives and machetes will become illegal from Tuesday, 24 September.

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Earlier this month, a zombie knife supplier regularly used by gangs was offered £350,000 of taxpayers cash to give up their stock as part of a weapons amnesty.

Following news of the attack, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that "heart-breaking violence" has no place on our streets.

A 43-year-old woman who witnessed the attack ran to the schoolboy's aid and attempted to stem the bleeding from the wound as he lay injured in the street.

Describing the boy as "laying face down on the floor", the woman, who wishes not to be named, described a "massive pool of blood" forming beneath the boy as she used sheets to stem the bleeding.

It comes as the woman who came to the victim's aid, who lived in the area for 14 years, said she spotted the boy dying in the road outside her flat after hearing screams.

Speaking by the police cordon in Woolwich, she told the PA news agency: "I was upstairs in my bedroom, I had my nightshirt on, I heard screaming from across the road saying 'someone's been stabbed, someone's been stabbed'.

"So, I grabbed a sheet, I had no shoes or socks on or anything, and I just literally run to where just near where the tent is, and there was someone laying face down on the floor.

Describing how she "turned him over" to assess his injury, she explained that the boy "had a gash in his head and I thought 'that's not bleeding enough'.

"His leg moved and there was a massive pool of blood, so I just stemmed the flow of blood until the paramedics and that got here.

"I asked if I could go and shower because I was covered in his blood, and they said 'yes' so I went in and showered.

"I come back out and they (the police) called me over because I was the last one with him - he was going to me 'I'm 15, I'm 15, don't let me die' and I said to him 'you're not going to die, mate'."

The boy's next of kin have been informed, police confirmed.

"Our officers attended and found a 15-year-old boy with a stab injury. Despite the efforts of officers and paramedics from the London Ambulance Service, sadly he died a short time later," Detective Chief Superintendent Leary said on Monday.

"His family have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers from the Met.

"Once again we have had to tell a child’s family that their loved one has been killed in an act of violence using a knife. Our thoughts are with them as they struggle to comprehend what has happened," he continued.

"The fact that a 15-year-old teenager, who had his whole life ahead of him, has been taken from his family in this way, is a stark and sobering reminder of the danger of ‘zombie-style’ knives.

"We are committed to doing everything in our power to taking these weapons off our streets.

"We know that this murder will also send shockwaves throughout the community and I understand the genuine concern this will create. We share those concerns.

"Local teams are working closely with the specialist homicide detectives so that we can establish exactly what happened as quickly as possible. Enquiries continue at pace today.

"We need your help to find answers the victim’s family desperately needs."

The forthcoming ban on weapons forms part of efforts to reduce knife crime across the UK.

It's a campaign that has seen prominent figures - including campaigner and actor Idris Elba - push for a ban on large blades.

It follows stark figures which show knife crime linked to "zombie-style" knives and machetes rose from 7,159 offences in 2019, to 14,195 in 2023 - a figure that has nearly doubled.

Anyone with information is asked to call police via 101 quoting reference CAD 5989/22Sep.