Camden stabbings: Teenager charged with two knife murders and two other attacks in alleged violence spree

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A teenager has been charged with murdering two people during an alleged spree of violence in north London.

Isaiah Popoola, 18, is accused of stabbing Abdikarim Hassan and Sadiq Adan Mohamed to death on the night of 20 February.

The teenager, from Camden, is also accused of separate stabbing and attempted grievous bodily harm on another person, on same evening.

Abdikarim died of a stab wound to the chest, despite members of the public giving him first aid after seeing him stagger into the road.

His mother, Shamso Mohamed Ahmed, left their nearby home during the disturbance and saw her the 17-year-old lying on the floor.

“She said [to the police] that jacket looks like her son's and can she have a look if it's her son and they refused,” neighbour Layla Awod said. “She called his mobile and it was ringing and that's when she realised that it was her son, and they refused to let her in.”

Relatives described the Westminster College student, who was the eldest of six children, as a “good guy” who was “always smiling” and liked playing football.

“He was helping his mum, whenever he was off from college, he was taking his siblings to school,” his uncle Yusuf Ahmed said.

His aunt Fatima Deria added his mother had fled with her family from war-torn Somalia to the UK to find safety.

"But he's not safe is he?" she said. "He's dead."

Later that night, 20-year-old Mohamed was found suffering from stab wounds nearby. He died at the scene.

Denise Arnold, 63, who lives in the road where he died, saw people attempting to resuscitate the victim.

"My neighbour rushed out because she knew there was something bad. She stood on her bed and she could see,” she said. "So she rang the 999 call and she was told to go down and check he was breathing.”

She said she saw a large group of people gathered around the victim, adding: ”There was a lot of screaming.”

Fowsiya Abdi, Mohamed’s mother, said she received a message from her son saying: “I’m wounded.”

“Please, I beg you, people who got a knife, children – stop please,” she said.

Relatives said violence had become a “constant theme” in the local community.

“We are made to believe that the police are here to protect us, but how does a mother feel her kids are protected when she has lost two in the same vicinity within months?” said a statement from the family.

Mohamed also lived on the Peckwater Estate and was also of Somali descent. He was killed just five months after his brother was murdered in Camden Town.

Police believe he was with a friend when they were chased by four men down an alleyway before he was stabbed and the group fled.

Earlier that night, a 17-year-old boy was found stabbed in Aldenham Street and taken to hospital with injuries that were not life threatening. A 24-year-old man was also attacked but did not sustain serious injuries.

Appealing for information over the attacks which came amid mounting concern over knife crime in London, detectives suggested the stabbings may be connected.

“We believe there were a number of suspects involved and enquiries are ongoing to identify them and establish the events surrounding these violent incidents which we are treating as being linked," said Detective Chief Inspector Paul Considine.

“I can understand why some people may be reluctant or nervous about coming forward to speak with police, but be assured that all information provided will be treated in the strictest of confidence.”

A burnt-out blue van found abandoned the day after the murders has been linked to the stabbings.

Police put a section 60 order for expanded stop and searches in place in the area following the killings, resulting in eight arrests and a number of knives and baseball bats seized.

The deaths brought the number of fatal stabbings in London to 16 so far in 2018, with five of them teenagers.

In the year to September, England and Wales saw a rise of 21 per cent in recorded crimes involving a knife, including a 13 per cent rise in homicides and 28 per cent rise in rapes where a bladed weapon was used, compared with the previous year.

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, held urgent meetings with politicians, police, youth services and other officials in the wake of the murders.

“I'm desperately saddened to hear of the death of two young Londoners,” he said. “Two more lives needlessly lost to knife crime.”

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick restated her commitment to tackling knife crime, describing her anger at the “senseless waste of life”.

"The frequency with which some of our young people are prepared to take each other's lives is shocking,” she said. “For two young men to be murdered so close together - both in time and geography - makes this even harder to comprehend."

Ms Dick said police were not the only solution to the knife crime epidemic, adding: “There will be young people out today who are carrying knives - stop and think. Do you really want your life to end? Or end someone else's and waste your own life in prison?”

The latest phase of a pre-planned anti-knife crime operation in London resulted in almost nearly 300 arrests and the seizure of more than 250 weapons, including guns, a machete, crossbows and a smoke grenade.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the investigation team on 020 8345 3734, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Additional reporting by PA