4 Boys Wounded in London Stabbing Spree

Tom Ozimek
8/17/2018
Updated:
8/17/2018

A British boy is fighting for his life after he was allegedly disembowelled in a stabbing spree in London that left four teenagers suffering from knife wounds.

The Metro reported that witnesses of the attack described one of the boys crying “Help, help” before he was knifed.

One of the teens reportedly collapsed with his intestines falling onto the ground.

“That particular one, I  hope he does live but by the looks of it and the way the ambulance had to struggle I would give it just an 8% (chance),” an unnamed woman told Metro reporters. “It was very traumatising.” >

All four victims of the attack were taken to hospital, the Metropolitan Police said.

They said the boy who was most grievously injured was in critical condition.

Another was in serious but stable condition and the remaining two did not suffer serious injuries.

The four victims were aged between 15 and 16 years old, said the Metropolitan Police.

Six attackers, aged between 15 and 16, have been arrested.

Witnesses told Metro reporters that they saw a group of boys fleeing the scene minutes before the police arrived around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 16, at the Elmington Estate in Camberwell, south London.

Superintendent Annmarie Cowley did not comment on a likely motive for the attack, but called the incident “an example of the utter senselessness of knife crime.”

Police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the stabbing.

The crime scene is not far from where on Aug. 1, drill rapper Sidique Kamara, aka Incognito, was murdered.

The 23-year-old musician was stabbed to death.

Children in the UK as young as 14 have been involved in knife crime.

The Epoch Times reported on the stabbing of a 14-year-old boy on July 1 in London.

Eyewitness Amina Taylor posted a photograph of the crime scene with the caption “Hug your kids closer tonight. Hope the victims pulls through.”

Rise in Homicides and Knife Crime

The number of homicides in England and Wales has risen for the fourth year running, recent figures show.

Data released in July by the UK’s office of statistics shows that, excluding terror attacks, there was a total of 701 homicides in the year ending March 2018—a 12 percent increase from the previous year.

There was a 16 percent rise in recorded offences involving a knife or sharp instrument, and a 30 percent jump in recorded robberies.

A total of about 5.5 million offences were recorded, up 11 percent compared with the year of April 2016 to March 2017.

Caroline Youell, an analyst at the Office of National Statistics said, “There have been increases in some lower-volume ‘high-harm’ offences such as homicide and knife crime, consistent with rises over the past three years. However, the latest rise in gun crime is much smaller than previously seen.”

“We have also seen continued increases in some theft offences such as vehicle-related theft and burglary, while computer viruses have fallen,” she said.

The Office of National Statistics said that homicides remained concentrated in urban areas, and are still relatively rare.

The debate as to how to tackle rising crime rates in London is ongoing.

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has been criticised for not doing enough to halt violent crime in the city.

Earlier this year, he said there will be a “significant increase” in the use of targeted stop and search in the city. Police in the UK can stop and search people if they have “reasonable grounds” to believe someone has been involved in a crime or has a prohibited item.
Epoch Times reporter Jane Gray contributed to this report.
Tom Ozimek is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times. He has a broad background in journalism, deposit insurance, marketing and communications, and adult education.
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