London has been rocked by another night of violent crime after four teenagers were stabbed in three separate incidents across the capital.
With the number of murder inquiries rising above 50 in the capital so far this year, both London Mayor Sadiq Kahn and the Conservative government were under pressure to get control of the streets.
In the first attack on Thursday night, a man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after two teenagers were stabbed in east London.
The pair, who are both aged 15, were rushed to hospital following the incident on Grove Road in Mile End.
The boys remain in a serious condition in hospital following the stabbing.
Another youth, 16, who was treated for minor injuries, has been arrested for conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm, Tower Hamlets police said.
In a separate incident, a 13-year-old boy was seriously wounded after being stabbed in Newham, east London.
Three youths have been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm with intent, Newham Police said.
The teenage victim was attacked in Gainsborough Avenue in Newham shortly before 7pm.
And marking another night of violent crime across the capital, Metropolitan Police said a teenager has been taken to hospital following a stabbing in Ealing Broadway in west London. Their condition is unknown.
London Ambulance Service said it was called to Grove Road shortly after 6pm and treated three patients at the scene. London’s Air Ambulance was also dispatched.
“We sent multiple resources to the scene including ambulance crews, an incident response officer and an advanced paramedic, with the first of our medics arriving in just over six minutes,” a spokesperson for London Ambulance Service said.
“We treated three patients at the scene, and have taken two to hospital as a priority. We remain at the scene.”
Two witnesses said they saw a group of teenagers hanging around the streets nearby shortly before the reported stabbing incident in Mile End.
One, Jack Hawke, 34, who lives further down the street, said he heard “yelling” and went to his window, where he saw three boys, one on a bicycle, with their faces covered.
Another, Jack Hobbs, 30, walked past what appeared to be the same group on Grove Road and said: “They were all wearing dark clothes with their hoodies sort of fastened up at the top so their heads were completely covered.”
Hawke said a month earlier he had seen a group of youths being chased by another group in the park next to where the incident took place.
The incident comes during a spate of knife crime, with stabbings at their highest rate in London since 2010/11.
Scotland Yard has said it is currently investigating 55 suspected murders in the capital since the start of 2018.
Speaking today, mayor of London Sadiq Khan called the rising number of murders “heartbreaking”, criticising the government for cuts to the policing budget, which he said had been reduced by £700 million in the last seven years.
“Over the next three years the Government plans to cut another £300 million. That’s a billion pounds worth of cuts,” Khan said.
“So my message to the government is please work with us to solve this national problem.”